A FORMER Grampian firefighter has achieved a burning ambition to become chief executive of a Buckinghamshire fire brigade.
Mark Jones, a former senior commander of Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, has been made chief fire officer and chief executive of Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Mr Jones, who grew up at Burghead and attended Lossiemouth High School, joined the Grampian service in 1985 and served in a number of operational firefighting and command roles in Aberdeen.
His career in Grampian included corporate health and safety, staff development and operational command.
Mr Jones, 48, of Fleetwood Square, Chelmsford, also enjoyed secondments at the Scottish Fire Service Training School in East Lothian as an instructor and at Her Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland, assuming overall responsibility for training, human resources, equality and health and safety.
He left the Grampian brigade in 2005 to become deputy chief fire officer for Essex Fire and Rescue Service.
Mr Jones, also an international wildfire expert, said: “Grampian is one of the best brigades in Scotland and I closely follow its continued success.
“I learned much from working in Grampian and here in Essex, and am grateful to the people of both areas for their support.
“All publicly-funded services in England are likely to face severe funding challenges in future years and I know that the fire service will have to ‘cut its cloth’ in making sure we are able continue to deliver high-quality safety services.
“The experience I gained in Grampian in terms of managing resources will serve me well as funding pressures grow. My main emphasis will be to ensure that public safety remains as high as ever while seeking to lower costs.”
He and his wife, Gwen, who used to work as an administrator at Aberdeen City Council, maintain close links with the area and regularly visit Aberdeen and Moray to see family and friends.
Mr Jones will take up his post on January 1.