Fire Brigade has said goodbye to its longstanding Chief Fire Officer

Cleveland Fire Brigade has said goodbye to its longstanding Chief Fire Officer, Ian Hayton, after 49 years of dedicated service.

Since joining the Brigade in 1975, when it was known as Cleveland County Fire Brigade, Ian has served his entire career in Cleveland where he has been committed to building safer and stronger communities. Over the years Ian brought his expertise to strategic and operational Incident Command, risk management, fire safety, HR, health & safety, performance management, and much more.

Ian, who has served as Chief Fire Officer since 2009, reflected on his career, saying: “It has been an absolute honour and privilege to serve the people and communities of Cleveland Fire Brigade for the past 49 years. The sense of pride I have felt throughout this journey is immense. The Brigade is an exceptional and professional organisation, with a dedicated team committed to safeguarding the people of Teesside. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, both personally and professionally throughout my career.”

After a special ceremony which included a personalised cake, banners and bunting, the Chair of Cleveland Fire Authority, Councillor David Coupe said: “On behalf of the Fire Authority I would like to wish Ian a long and healthy retirement and thank him for the immeasurable value he has given to our communities throughout his service with the Brigade. It has been a pleasure working alongside Ian and his knowledge, passion and professionalism has always been at the heart of everything he does.”

Alongside his role as CFO, Ian is a Graduate member of the Institution of Fire Engineers and was also the UK National Fire Chief’s Council Chair for the Health and Wellbeing Committee, supporting services, firefighters, and service personnel across the nation in the promotion, prevention, support, and treatment of physical and mental health.

On behalf of everyone at Cleveland Fire Brigade, we would like to say a huge thank you to Ian for his decades of dedicated service to the Brigade. Ian’s commitment has made an enormous difference to not only the Brigade but the communities we proudly serve and his leadership and presence will be deeply missed by all of us.

Peter Rickard has been appointed the new Chief Fire Officer and will continue to guide the Brigade on its journey to providing the best prevention, protection, and emergency response for the communities of Cleveland Fire Brigade.

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