Avon Fire & Rescue Service chief to retire after ‘turbulent few years’

Avon Chief Fire Officer Simon Shilton has announced his retirement following a “turbulent few years” for the fire and rescue service. CFO Shilton submitted his resignation with six months’ notice in September and the search for his successor will begin on Wednesday, November 6, when the cross-party fire authority committee is asked to commit £20,000 for an executive search company to find suitable candidates.

The role carries a salary of £164,351. CFO Shilton, who has served in fire and rescue services for 32 years, stepped up from assistant chief fire officer in March 2022 when predecessor Mick Crennell retired.

The pair took charge at Avon at a time when government inspectors had highlighted serious failings. In 2017, the Home Office’s Baker Report revealed “deep-seated cultural issues”, a lack of racial diversity, “endemic” bullying, particularly of staff from ethnic minorities, and an “old boys’ club” which made backdoor payouts.

Then in December 2018 another damning report, by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), found three “causes of concern”, including a failure to do enough to protect the public through fire safety regulation. The two other areas given the worst rating of “inadequate” were promoting the right values and culture, and ensuring fairness and promoting diversity.

The report said employees were “humiliated by their peers” and women treated “inappropriately”. A return visit the following September “expressed concern over the pace of change”.

In response, the service produced an action plan including sweeping measures to introduce “zero tolerance” to bullying, harassment and discrimination, and new ways for victims to report incidents. Other changes included more private changing spaces, particularly at on-call fire stations.

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A peer review of the service following the 2018 report found confidence was high that bosses were tackling the cultural issues. But the scathing reports from reinspections kept coming.

In November 2023, Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AFRS) was rated inadequate in four of 11 areas, including its core duty of responding to emergencies, notably that the mobilisation system kept crashing during 999 calls, a serious concern that has since been fixed. HMICFRS found some staff disguised sexist language as “banter”.

At the time, CFO Shilton said the report was “upsetting” and that the conclusions about the organisation’s culture were particularly “heartbreaking”. He said he “did not recognise” the service described in the report and was publicly backed by councillors on the Avon Fire Authority committee.

Then last month a revisit found that firefighters and staff were “scared” to report bullying and harassment because they feared a QR code that bosses had given them to scan to report incidents would identify them. While improvements had been made in some areas, such as fire prevention and information about high-risk buildings, inspectors said more needed to be done to address AFRS’s culture.

Announcing his retirement on Tuesday, November 5, CFO Shilton said: “After fulfilling 32 years of a lifelong dream to be a firefighter, it comes with a heavy heart that I have made the decision to retire from Avon Fire & Rescue Service. It has been my pleasure and privilege to serve my community, and I am hugely grateful for the opportunities that the fire and rescue service locally and nationally has provided me during my career.

“It’s no secret, it has been a turbulent few years for the service, but my unwavering goal and focus has always been to ensure the organisation is in as strong a position as possible for a much brighter, sustainable future, a future built on a foundation of achieving outcomes, embedding continual improvements, and doing the right thing, recognising the right thing isn’t always comfortable, takes courage and time. To be finishing my career in the service I joined is a great privilege and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every role I’ve had the honour of undertaking across the services I’ve worked in.

“Avon Fire & Rescue Service has some incredibly passionate and dedicated staff, truly committed to making the service the best it can be. I want to say thank you to each and every member of staff – your hard work and devotion to making things better and ensuring the service is an inclusive and welcoming place for all is relentless.

“In recent years we have seen the service achieve many successes, and I am incredibly proud of the award-winning service we have become. I am confident that with the strong foundations I have been so passionate about developing within the service, alongside improvements in the service’s governance, the organisation will only continue to thrive.

“It has been my honour and joy to serve my community, alongside so many incredible people. As I step away from the service, I have every confidence the organisation will continue its journey with new leadership.”

CFO Shilton is set to retire on March 31 to enable sufficient time for his successor to be found and a handover process. But a report to the AFA committee said many senior fire officers were retiring because of recent pension changes affecting tax, so if a new chief fire officer was not found in time, CFO Shilton was willing to extend his tenure for a limited period to allow a further recruitment round.