County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) is proud to introduce its new Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps.
Steve was promoted to CFO in September 2022 and takes up his new role, today (Thursday, January 12) after the retirement of outgoing Chief Fire Officer Stuart Errington in December.
Steve joined CDDFRS on 1st June 2020 as Deputy Chief Fire Officer. He is an experienced fire officer and leader, having originally joined Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service in 1992 as an on-call firefighter. He then moved to Leicestershire FRS in 1994, before returning to Derbyshire FRS in 1998 where he undertook roles as station command, head of training, head of prevention and inclusion and as an inspecting officer.
Steve joined South Yorkshire FRS in 2014 as head of emergency response. He went on to lead the service’s community and business fire safety teams and spearheaded the creation of a joint community safety team with South Yorkshire Police. He also acted as Assistant Chief Fire Officer and head of service delivery.
CFO Helps, commented: “Over the last two and half years, I have seen for myself the dedication, skills and commitment from everyone in the service. This really does make a difference, to the lives of people cross County Durham and Darlington, and it is important we never lose sight of this.
“I am passionate about our communities, our people and our service and my vision for the future is to continue to deliver a high-quality fire service meeting the needs of our communities and ensuring that we are innovative, highly productive and professional.”
