A FIRE chief who publicly quit his job last week will leave, it has been confirmed, hours after he rescinded his decision to step down.
Oliver Lee, the interim chief of West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS), attempted to reverse his decision to leave the service earlier today, October 14, but was told his resignation had been accepted.
On the same day, the head of the service’s governance team also announced he was stepping down. Councillor Greg Brackenridge quit as fire authority chairman in a meeting of the West Midlands Fire Authority today.
Cllr Catherine Miks, Vice Chair, West Midlands Fire Authority said: "Today, a full Fire Authority (FA) meeting was held at West Midlands Fire Service Headquarters. Thank you to all those who attended.
"Following Cllr Brackenridge’s resignation, I, as vice-chair of the FA chaired the meeting. This was not a situation I expected to find myself in, but I am proud to have the opportunity to lead the Authority despite these difficult circumstances, and my commitment remains fully on supporting the excellent people of West Midlands Fire Service.
"The full minutes will be published in due course. However, there is one decision that we made that I would like you to know today, as I understand it is already being shared publicly.
"Following Oliver’s (Lee) resignation last week it was necessary for the Fire Authority to accept or decline his resignation. Based upon independent legal and employment advice, the Fire Authority has made a decision to accept Oliver’s resignation with immediate effect.
"As before, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Simon Barry will continue to lead the service until a permanent appointment to CFO/CEO is made.
"Please can I, on behalf of all of the Authority, take this opportunity to thank our staff, and you personally for everything that you do for the service.
"I realise these have been difficult and disruptive times, but the Authority is entirely committed to ensuring we support our staff to provide an outstanding service to the communities of the West Midlands.
"We will continue to move forward with the inspection of governance by the HMICFRS, and work with our partners and stakeholders to provide whatever additional scrutiny and insight is required."
Mr Lee was suspended from his role on October 7 after criticising the service’s governance, saying it lacked “courage, transparency, care and honesty”.
Then, taking to social media on Friday, October 11, Mr Lee quit, criticising the leadership, including Cllr Brackenridge.
In his post on social media site LinkedIn, he said he would “not be gagged and claimed he had stepped how “in order to do what it right”.
Today's meeting of the fire authority was initially told that he had changed his mind. He later claimed on LinkedIn to have been sacked.
In a statement, Mr Lee said: “Profoundly disappointed though I am both by my treatment and the frailties in West Midlands Fire Service’s governance in terms of specialist expertise and depth of knowledge of the organisation, this message refers to neither.
“Rather, I wanted to reflect briefly on what we have done over these past seven months. It is of course about people.
“First, the physics: the work to emplace proper foundations for the organisation, to correct misguided previous decisions and to address long overdue challenges.
“Second, the chemistry: the determination to make 1900 people feel valued, safe, cared for, inspired, informed and able to contribute.
“Third, the headline of one team: one team of 1900 people pursuing excellence on behalf of communities numbering almost three million people.
“This has not been easy to lead, as it has been unforgiving and relentless. It has taken a considerable toll. But it has been right. It has also shown a clear alternative to the disliked but longstanding status quo.
“Whilst this is often misunderstood, leadership is about service to others, as opposed to being about the leader. At the heart of this is selflessness, care and courage.
“I am truly grateful for all your help in driving this vital change in WMFS; hard though it is to do, I would not change it for the world.”
Mr Lee was appointed interim chief in March, following the death of the service’s previous chief, Wayne Brown, in January 2024.
In the days prior to his death, it was announced that Mr Brown had been placed under investigation regarding claims made about his qualifications.
Cllr Brackenridge, who is an elected member of the City of Wolverhampton Council, also sent a statement to be read out in the meeting explaining the reason for his decision to quit.
In the statement, which was also supplied to BirminghamLive ahead of the meeting, he said: “This has not been a decision taken lightly.
“Events over recent months are an unnecessary distraction. I will not allow this to happen.”
He did not address criticisms made against him by Mr Lee.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer at WMFS, Simon Barry, has said: “These last few weeks have continued a difficult 12-month period where there is potential for us to forget about the incredible work that all staff in this service deliver day in and day out as an essential emergency service.
“A fire service that rightly has a reputation as being one of the leading fire and rescue services in the country.
“Whatever their role, each person should be proud of the part they play in keeping our communities safe. I therefore pay tribute and say thank you to all the people in WMFS who turn up and perform in their roles every day.
“Thank you to the cleaners at our stations. Thanks to the pension team looking after our thousands of pensioners. Thanks to the firefighter who today will be making their first step into becoming Crew Commander. Thanks to the breathing apparatus team that competed admirably at the national BA challenge at the weekend.
“Our people and our communities will remain my focus.
“I have agreed with the Executive Leadership Team that the following should be our immediate priorities:
- "We will maintain excellent service delivery
- "We will ensure stability, maintain transparency and look after our people
- "We will ensure a transparent, fair and accurate inspection
- "We will continue to progress our internal priorities as these are vitally important to our people.
“Effective leadership, governance, scrutiny and oversight arrangements are essential for excellent public services and as the various reviews begin, I believe it’s vital that any feedback is openly welcomed and acted upon by all.”
In today’s meeting, the fire authority heard it would have to nominate and elect a new chair at its next meeting and that an independent review would be carried out by the Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services, Andy Cooke.
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