Fire chief resigns with 'a real sense of sadness'

Buckinghamshire's fire chief has said she has "a real sense of sadness" about leaving the role next spring.

Louise Harrison took over the job in 2023 and had previously been a director of operations at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, having worked in policing for 31 years.

The fire service revealed her resignation on Wednesday, but gave no specific reason for her departure and a timetable for appointing her successor has yet to be announced.

Harrison said: "Leading Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and serving the communities of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes has been an enormous privilege."

She said the service had a strong leadership team and dedicated staff, adding she had "every confidence" they would continue to build on its progress.

"Our people work every day to protect our communities, and the progress we have made reflects their professionalism, dedication and determination to improve," she added.

Harrison had worked in policing for 31 years, including at Counter Terrorism's north west unit.

She also led on the Prevent programme that aims to stop people becoming terrorists.

Her time in charge at the county's fire service has seen it come out of special measures after 18 months.

In August, the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services report praised the progress it had made, with seven areas improving by at least two grades compared with the previous inspection.

Following its findings, Harrison said there was "still work to do", but the inspection showed changes made over the previous two years were having an impact.

Harrison's appointment had drawn criticism from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) at the time as it was concerned she had no firefighting experience, which could undermine "both public safety and trust".

Following Harrison's resignation announcement, the service said there would be no immediate change to the management structure, and maintaining services across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes would be a priority during the handover.

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority chairman Llew Monger said Harrison had led the service through "a period of significant improvement" and thanked her for "her leadership, dedication and commitment".

He added it would be focused on carefully managing the transition.

The FBU has been approached for comment.

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