Veteran fire officer takes command in Tayside
A long-serving fire officer with over three decades of experience has expressed pride upon assuming his new role for delivering fire and rescue operations across Tayside.
Area Commander Bryan Todd is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) new Local Senior Officer for Perth, Kinross, Angus and Dundee (PKAD).
His new role will involve the responsibility for more than 20 community fire stations. He will also oversee close collaboration with key partners, such as other blue-light services and local authorities, to improve and enhance the safety of local communities.
Area Commander Todd said: “I am looking forward to working with the team, as well as with partners.
“It is such an honour to continue the impressive work they have already achieved.”
Area Commander Todd’s frontline career began in 1990 as an on call firefighter in Moffat with the then Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service, responding to emergencies via a pager while working as a joiner
He had previously completed a joinery apprenticeship after leaving high school in Lockerbie when the opportunity came up to join the ranks of his local fire station.
He said: “One of the local tradespersons who was also a firefighter encouraged me to join.
“I went for it and have never looked back.”
Area Commander Todd then relocated to Fife with his wife, Sharon, in 2002 where he joined the ranks as a wholetime firefighter based at Lochgelly.
He has taken on numerous strategic positions within the former Fife and now national service, most recently, overseeing breathing apparatus training based at the Service’s East Service Delivery Area training centre in Newbridge, Edinburgh.
Throughout my career, I cherished every role I have held in the Service. The job has given me great satisfaction knowing I’m making a difference.
Area Commander Todd also plays an active role in the SFRS partnership with charity Anthony Nolan.
He was part of the team that received the inaugural Gary Dall Award – named after a friend and colleague who died in 2018 – which celebrates groups across Scotland who work to recruit potential stem cell donors.
He said: “Gary was a respected fire officer and a friend who faced his condition with courage and determination.
“It was an honour to receive the award with my colleagues on behalf of the team.
“I look forward to building on the partnership already established in our area.”
Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Stephen Wood, SFRS Head of Service Delivery for the North of Scotland, said: “I am pleased to welcome Bryan as Area Commander and Local Senior Officer for Perth, Kinross, Angus and Dundee.
“He is an exceptional officer, and we are proud to have him take on this responsibility.”