Why has Northamptonshire struggled to get a fire chief?

Following the delayed decision to appoint the Police and Crime Commissioner's "preferred candidate" to the role of chief fire officer for Northamptonshire, we look at why the process proved to be so difficult.

The county's fire and rescue service was led by three different people in one month last year, with one person in charge for just 10 days, and some firefighters and members of the public called for the latest candidate to be vetoed.

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) is responsible for appointing the chief fire officer and decides on a preferred candidate to fill any vacancy.

The Police, Fire and Crime Panel, which is made up of councillors and other co-opted members, then holds a confirmation hearing within three weeks where they can interview the candidate and decide whether to confirm the appointment.

The story begins with the retirement of Darren Dovey as chief fire officer in October 2022.

He had tried to retire twice before but was kept on to see the service through the transfer of its oversight to the PFCC in 2019 and to lead it through Covid in 2020.

The PFCC's preferred candidate to succeed Darren Dovey was Mark Jones, who was chief officer of the South Australia Country Fire Service at the time of his appointment, but had also held senior roles in Buckinghamshire and Essex.

Mr Jones took over in October 2022, but left in July saying that he had to concentrate on recovering from injuries.

It later emerged that a settlement agreement had been signed by Mr Jones and the PFCC's office.

The next person to occupy the fire chief's chair, on an interim basis, was Nicci Marzec.

The PFCC's choice for the role was widely criticised, primarily by the Fire Brigades Union, because she had no operational firefighting experience and had been working in the PFCC's office as director of early intervention and head of paid service.

There was also some speculation about the nature of her friendship with the PFCC Stephen Mold, who denied that he and Ms Marzec were "in a relationship".

She stepped down from her role on 17 July 2023, just 10 days after she was appointed.

Simon Tuhill, who was due to start work as the deputy chief fire officer on 18 July, found himself propelled straight into the chief fire officer's role on an interim basis, becoming the third person to lead the force in the space of a month.

He told BBC Radio Northampton that the service's staff "feel some of the turmoil, but equally they want their chief fire officer to be focussed on improving both the culture and conditions and how they work, [and] also what they can do to keep the people of Northamptonshire safe".

In November, the PFCC announced that his new preferred candidate was Nikki Watson.

Questions were raised about her experience of firefighting, as she had spent the previous 36 years working with police forces, including Avon & Somerset.

It emerged that she was under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The IOPC confirmed that a senior officer from Avon & Somerset Police was under investigation regarding their attendance at a policing conference in 2023 and whether proper policies and procedures were followed.

Ms Watson initially declined to appear at a previous confirmation meeting held by the Northants Police, Fire and Crime Panel which was then rescheduled to 20 February.

The panel interviewed her and then went into private session to decide whether they should veto the appointment.

Nikki Watson has since been confirmed as Northamptonshire's new chief fire officer, subject to the completion of a vetting process.

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