The new fire chief for the north of Scotland has spoken of his vision of a national service which “serves locally”.
Deputy Assistant Chief Officer David Farries has spent the first month settling into his new role as the head of service delivery in the region, touring as many stations as he physically can to meet his “committed” staff.
And this is no mean feat because he is now responsible for 165 stations across the Highlands and Islands, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Kinross and Angus.
Speaking to the Press and Journal for the first time since starting the new job, the married dad-of-three said: “I think I have got a real integral role to make sure we get all of the benefits of the national fire service to the north.
“My vision for the north is for it to be both national and local, a national service that serves locally. I want people to be comfortable to know that they are getting their lion’s share when it comes to national resources.”
Mr Farries, 41, signed up as a firefighter 20 years ago in an almost inevitable step – his dad is currently still in the service after half a century, while his maternal grandfather was also a firefighter.
He said: “It was the only job I was ever going to do. It came at me at all angles. I think as a young boy I didn’t think there was anything else you could do as a job.”
Starting off with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in his home city of Edinburgh, he gained a vast wealth of experience cutting his teeth in the Scottish capital, attending many major emergencies of all types – from serious road traffic accidents to many massive, and all too frequently tragic, fatal blazes.
He moved on up through the ranks, serving throughout the Lothians, and was involved in fire safety and fire investigations.
From there he went into operations planning, where he was involved in major events such as the Edinburgh Hogmanay Festival and rugby internationals.
The passionate fire chief also spent time in a training role and looking at incident command across the Scottish service before landing the top job in the north.
DACO Farries, a keen climber and rugby fan, said: “I am now covering a vast geographical area with 165 fire stations, with some in city locations and others in the remotest part of the country.
“I am spending my time going out and about visiting all our committed staff, making it my mission to be visible across the north area.
“The fire service is evolving and not only involves fighting fires and cutting people free from cars, but having more of a focus on prevention.
“The nature of incidents we attend is also changing, particularly in relation to an increase in flooding.”