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 ChairpersonMr Michael Graham – Chief Fire & Rescue Officer
Ms Bonnie Anley – Non-Executive MemberMr Thomas O’Hanlon – Non-Executive Member
Mr Jonathan Craig – Non-Executive MemberMr Jim Quinn – Non-Executive Member
Mr Cadogan Enright – Non-Executive MemberMrs Hilary Singleton – Non-Executive Member
Mr Ken Henning – Non-Executive MemberMs Lindsey Smith – Non-Executive Member
Mr Robert Irvine – Non-Executive MemberMr 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.

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