A FIREFIGHTER who started his career in Somerset and has worked throughout Dorset has been named as the new Chief Fire Officer for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Andy Cole, the current Assistant Chief Fire Officer, and take up his new role in January on the retirement of Ben Ansell.

Mr Cole, a keen cyclist and father of three, started his fire service career at Castle Cary fire station as an on-call firefighter before joining the then Dorset Fire and Rescue Service in 2008. He served as an operational firefighter in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area for a number of years.

Following promotion to Station Manager, he has worked in various roles supporting local stations in the Dorset area before being promoted to Group Manager where he then oversaw all Wiltshire fire stations and supported them in recruitment, development, training and response.

In 2019, Mr Cole was promoted to Area Manager where he was responsible for leading teams developing and improving the service in a number of areas including fire control, operational procedural and the management of operational risk information and collaboration.

In early 2021 he was promoted to Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Director of Community Safety. In this role, over the last three and a half years, he has led colleagues across Dorset & Wiltshire on operational response, prevention, protection and safeguarding. He is also the Chair of the National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) On-call Committee and received a QFSM in the 2020 Queen’s New Years Honours list for his outstanding leadership and efforts during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Said Chair of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Cllr Paul Oatway: “Andy brings significant strategic leadership experience to the role and a proven track record as an empathetic leader with a can-do attitude. The Fire & Rescue Authority and I look forward to working closely with him to ensure the safety of the communities of Dorset & Wiltshire.

Said Mr Cole: “It’s a privilege to be appointed Chief Fire Officer. I take great pride in the service we provide and the dedicated staff who work extremely hard to ensure we deliver this service to our communities and partners. I am committed to working hard to provide the highest quality service to everyone who lives, works, or visits the beautiful counties of Dorset & Wiltshire.”

  Pic new Dorset and Wilts chief officer, Andy Cole. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.