The Chairman of East Sussex Fire Authority, Councillor Michael Murphy, is pleased to announce that following a comprehensive selection process, Gary Ferrand has been appointed as the new Assistant Chief Fire Officer for East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.

Gary is currently an Area Manager with Devon and Somerset having started his career with Devon Fire & Rescue Service in 1988. In 2001 he was promoted to Assistant Divisional Officer and was further promoted twice during his career with Somerset Fire & Rescue Service. In 2007 he was appointed as an Area Manager for the then newly combined Devon & Somerset FRS.

Councillor Michael Murphy said that he was extremely pleased that Gary had accepted the position and that his extensive experience and achievements in Devon & Somerset made him ideally suited for the position within East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. Councillor Murphy added that everyone was greatly looking forward to working with Gary when he joins the Service on 15th June 2009.

Gary Ferrand will now be responsible for the Service Support directorate, which incorporates Health, Safety & Welfare, Engineering Services, Estates Management, Information Management and the Firelink and FireControl Projects.

Gary commented that,

"I am delighted to be accepting the post of Assistant Chief Fire Officer and look forward to working with colleagues in East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.

Having lived and worked in Devon and Somerset I have become accustomed to a historic and unique environment, with beautiful countryside and coastline so I will feel quite at home in East Sussex and am therefore especially excited to be taking this post.

In my role as the Head of Community Safety within Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service I am only too aware of the need to deliver effective preventative and protective programmes and activities to our communities.

I am also aware that East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has a strong track record of delivering a range of activities effectively and also works well across the various community sectors in East Sussex and the City of Brighton & Hove.

I am looking forward to contributing to the Service's vision of making East Sussex a safer and more sustainable community."