New Chief Fire Officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service
The Assistant Chief Fire Officer of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is to take over as Chief Fire Officer of the service in December.
The appointment follows the announcement that current CFO Rod Hammerton would be retiring at the end of this year; a robust interview process was undertaken, and Simon Hardiman was the successful candidate to be recommended to the Authority.
On Friday 18 November the Authority agreed that Simon would be the new CFO from January 2023.
Simon Hardiman said: “I feel very privileged to have been chosen to take on this role and to take the Service forward in the coming years. I have been proud to be part of SFRS for the last five years and I am very excited to continue this next chapter.”
Simon began his career in West Midlands Fire Service in 2001 and moved to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service as the Area Manager for Operational Risk Management in 2018.
He added: “SFRS is already a high performing Service and I plan to ensure this continues. My vision is to maintain delivery of excellent services to the communities of Shropshire, and to meet new challenges and demands placed upon us over the coming months and years."
Current CFO Rod Hammerton said: “Being a firefighter has been the most fulfilling job I could have hoped for, and it is bittersweet to be retiring after 30 years of working with such wonderful colleagues and partners. I have been honoured to be the Chief Fire Officer for Shropshire for the last seven years, but I am leaving secure in the knowledge that the leadership is in good hands.
“In my time as Chief, I have overseen significant improvements to make us a more inclusive organisation that really tries to work with and develop its staff. This will help Simon as he faces the challenges of the next few years, but he has the confidence of the organisation, and I am confident he will do a great job as Chief.”
Chairman of the Authority Councillor Eric Carter said: “We are thrilled to have chosen Simon Hardiman as the new Chief of SFRS. We are confident he will lead the Service in a positive direction and continue the good work Rod has done over the last six years.”
An official handover will be taking place on 15 December 2022.
