NI Fire Service Chairman To Resign

The chairman of Northern Ireland's Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed he is to resign from the role.

Dr Joe McKee was half-way through a four-year term at the organisation.

In a statement to the BBC, Mr McKee said he hoped the end of the year "would mark the conclusion of a very challenging period which would allow the service to look forward."

He added: "What has given me greatest satisfaction has been the knowledge that, on top of the recent high levels of political scrutiny and departmental compliance, NIFRS has continued to provide the general public with a consistently high service, not only in terms of responding to emergencies but also in the wider context of community safety and fire prevention."

Jim Wallace, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) said of Mr McKee's decision: "On behalf of NIFRS I would like to thank Dr McKee for his contribution to the organisation over the past number of years. His commitment to ensuring the highest standard of fire and rescue services has always been Joe's priority and I know this will continue to be so in his remaining months in post.

"The Corporate Management Team and I will continue to work with Dr McKee and the NIFRS Board over the coming months to ensure we are providing the best possible fire and rescue service to the people of Northern Ireland and in continuing our work to rebuild, change and improve our organisation."

In recent times, the fire service has been the subject of investigations following allegations of financial irregularities. One of the investigations was ordered by the Department of Health and the Public Accounts Committee and are concerned with allegations of fraud, unapproved bonuses and failures to deal with staff grievances.

(JP/CD)