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THE SALAMANDER | JULY 2017
LEADERSareexpected tobeable tomake tough
decisions if it’s for the good of the organisation,
but talking to Chris Strickland, Chief Fire Officer
with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
(CFRS), it’s clear that people are always at the
heart of any life-changing decisions he makes.
Chris joined Cambridgeshire as Assistant Chief
Fire Officer in 2007, having spent 24 years with
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service where
he became a firefighter at “eighteen years of
age.” He spent twelve years riding the pumps –
five as a firefighter and seven in the equivalent
of today’s Crew and Watch Commander roles.
Next came six years as a Station Officer,
today’s Station Commander role, before he was
promoted to Group, then Area Commander in
2004.
Chris left Hertfordshire to join CFRS as an
Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2007. He was
promoted to Deputy Chief Fire Officer in 2008
before his promotion to Chief Fire Officer in
2016. In addition to his responsibility within
CFRS, Chris also chairs the National Fire
Chief’s Council (NFCC) Sector Resources
Committee and is chair of the Cambridgeshire
and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum.
It’s clear from talking to Chris that he has
always tried to strike the right balance between
progressing his own career and doing the right
thing by others. Take his decision to move to
Cambridgeshire. “I was interested in getting
to Assistant Chief Fire Officer level. However,
the opportunity for progression in Hertfordshire
where I was at the time was limited and it was
clear it would be some time before anything
came up,” said Chris. “I was looking around but
was wrestling between the needs of my family
and my career aspirations. I felt uncomfortable
about uprooting my family and wanted to move
somewhere which would allow my children
to stay in their school and not lose their
social networks. So when an ACO position in
Cambridgeshire came up I saw that as a job I
could apply for and where I could achieve both.”
Chrisandhis family lookedatmovingsomewhere
in south Cambridgeshire that was within close
proximity to his home in Baldock. However, fate
lent a hand when the fire authority decided his
home location was close enough to Service
Headquarters for him to respond to operational
incidents when required.
When he joined the Service, economic times
were very different to the way they are today.
“When I joined the Service back in 2010, it was
very different. For a number of years we had
been subject to performance assessment and
were always looking for ongoing efficiencies
but our budget always increased every year.
“In 2010 the first Comprehensive Spending
Review happened and everything changed.
We moved from efficiencies to having to make
huge savings from our budget and the whole
challenge became about significantly reducing
our budget whilst aiming to continue to deliver
the best service possible to the community.”
Chris says it’s important for leaders to be able
to make tough decisions but adds: “For me it’s
never been about status or money. I’ve always
wanted to do the best I can and to work as part
of a motivated and high performing team that
aims to improve its delivery of service. When
you are trying to do that and you necessarily
impact people in negative ways it has never
felt good to me. Making a decision that means
people will lose their job is a terrible thing to do
but unfortunately it has been necessary.”
Meet the Chief
In this our regular spot we look at the
Chief Fire Officers within the UK
Chris Strickland, Chief Fire Officer for
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.