Organisational Overview
GOVERNANCE & OVERSIGHT
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) was established on 1 July 2006 as a body corporate under The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.
NIFRS, through its Board and Officers, is responsible for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for, and used economically, efficiently and effectively.
NIFRS, as a Non-Departmental Public Body, is accountable to the Department of Health (DoH) for all its actions and specifically the roles and responsibilities as laid out in the agreed Management Statement and Financial Memorandum (MSFM) (July 2017).
This accountability is managed through day to day interaction with the Public Safety Unit (PSU) and more formally via Ground Clearing and Accountability Meetings scheduled throughout the year.
The strategic direction, performance and scrutiny role is undertaken by the NIFRS Board which comprises a non-executive Chairperson, the Chief Fire & Rescue Officer and 10 Non-Executive members, 4 of whom are Local Government District Councillors, and on a day-to-day basis NIFRS is managed by its Executive Leadership Team.
As at 1 April 2021, the NIFRS Board comprised of the following members:
Ms Carmel McKinney OBE – Board Chairperson | Mr Michael Graham – Chief Fire & Rescue Officer |
Ms Bonnie Anley – Non-Executive Member | Mr Thomas O’Hanlon – Non-Executive Member |
Mr Jonathan Craig – Non-Executive Member | Mr Jim Quinn – Non-Executive Member |
Mr Cadogan Enright – Non-Executive Member | Mrs Hilary Singleton – Non-Executive Member |
Mr Ken Henning – Non-Executive Member | Ms Lindsey Smith – Non-Executive Member |
Mr Robert Irvine – Non-Executive Member | Mr Gordon Smyth – Non-Executive Member |
As at 1 April 2021, the Executive Leadership Team comprised of the following members:
Mr Michael Graham – Chief Fire & Rescue Officer |
Mr Mark Deeney – Director of Transformation, Performance & Governance |
Mr Aidan Jennings – Director of Support Services |
Mr Paddy Gallagher – Director of Service Delivery |
Mrs Donna O’Connor – Interim Director of Human Resources |
Ms Paula White – Director of Finance |
LEGISLATIVE ENVIRONMENT
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) is statutorily bound to comply with three primary pieces of legislation –
- The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 established NIFRS as an entity and placed a statutory obligation on NIFRS to fight fire; to respond to road traffic collisions; to train and equip staff; along with a requirement to focus on fire safety prevention and education;
- The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, shifted focus away from the ‘prescriptive’ nature of older fire safety legislation to a more risk based approach; and
- The Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011 extended NIFRS’ role to include statutory responsibility for Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear (CBRN); Search and Rescue (SAR); serious flooding; and serious transport incidents.
Additionally NIFRS, through its Board and Executive Leadership Team, is responsible for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for, and used economically, efficiently and effectively.