Union calls for Northamptonshire fire commissioner's resignation after 'shambolic' appointment of friend

Northamptonshire’s fire commissioner Stephen Mold should quit after the “shambolic” appointment of an interim fire boss who resigned 10 days later, a union said.

Nicci Marzec was appointed to lead the county’s fire service by Mr Mold on July 7 but quit on Monday.

Mr Mold, Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner, said their friendship had “become the story” and risked damaging the fire service’s reputation.

In a statement, he said “speculation” over the pair’s friendship meant that she could not continue to lead the fire service or as monitoring officer in his office.

New recruit Simon Tuhill was appointed as deputy chief fire officer in April.

He will start that role today but will be asked to lead the fire service temporarily, with that appointment set to be confirmed by Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime panel within days.

An advert for a permanent chief fire officer “will continue as planned” within weeks, Mr Mold’s office said.

Last week, the office said Ms Marzec’s role would be reviewed regularly but could have lasted until at least May and scheduled elections for police, fire and crime commissioners.

Ms Marzec had been appointed after the sudden departure of Mark Jones, who had led the service since last October.

Mr Mold said Ms Marzec, who has no operational firefighting experience, was “a credible candidate” to lead the service “for a short time while we advertised for a new chief officer” and that he had appointed her “to keep stability”.

But he said he now realised he had acted “too quickly” in his “urgency” to ensure there was a chief fire officer in place for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 9.

He had not consulted the police, fire and crime panel about Ms Marzec’s appointment.

Last week, Mr Mold’s office said legal advice confirmed the panel’s agreement was not required because Ms Marzec was already a member of staff and because her appointment was only interim.

Adam Taylor, from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), said Mr Mold’s explanations “don’t appear to add up” but welcomed Ms Marzec leaving the top job.

Mr Taylor said: “Stephen Mold has presided over a series of events which has been nothing short of shambolic.

“His explanations for the events which have taken place do not appear to add up. He has argued that the appointment needed to be rushed because of a racing event at Silverstone but his appointee had no operational experience anyway.

“Stephen Mold should now resign as police, fire and crime commissioner, and we invite members of the [police, fire and crime panel] to consider whether his position is in fact still tenable.”

Danielle Stone, a West Northamptonshire councillor who is Labour’s candidate to take on Mr Mold next May, told BBC Radio Northampton that there are still “an awful lot of questions” to be answered about Mr Jones’ departure and Ms Marzec’s appointment.

Fellow Labour councillor Zoe McGhee, who sits on North Northamptonshire Council and the police, fire and crime panel, told the radio station that the events had been “soap opera worthy”.

On Friday, Ms Marzec also gave an interview to BBC Radio Northampton, in which she said she was hopeful of creating a “genuinely inclusive workplace for everybody in the service”.

She added: “I intend to go out and speak to staff. I would like the opportunity to hear their views and I would hope for them to form their view on me and my appointment based on those conversations and not based on things they may have heard in the media.”

Ms Marzec now has no responsibilities in the fire and rescue service. She remains the director of early intervention and head of paid service in Mr Mold’s office. A spokesperson said neither carry any governance responsibilities.

She will receive no extra pay for the 10 days she spent as interim chief fire officer.

Mr Mold has been approached for comment over the FBU’s call for him to resign.