Firefighters to rally outside Council with call for fire commissioner’s resignation
This Thursday, 27th July, firefighters will hold a rally outside a meeting of Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime scrutiny panel, calling for fire commissioner Stephen Mold to resign or be held to the “highest account”. (1)
The meeting is expected to involve a discussion of the fiasco around the appointment of an Interim Chief Fire Officer for the county.
After Northamptonshire’s Chief Fire Officer, Mark Jones, resigned suddenly, Commissioner Stephen Mold appointed his own staffer, Nicci Marzec, to the role – despite the fact that Ms Marzec had never been a firefighter and had no operational experience of the fire service.
After an outcry from the Fire Brigades Union and local politicians, Nicci Marzec stepped down from the role last week. She has since resigned from all positions she holds with the PFCC office, including as head of staff.
Stephen Mold is facing pressure from his local Conservative party, as well as mounting public outrage. A petition calling for his resignation has now gathered over 500 signatures.
The FBU has also written to Fire Minister Chris Philp calling for a response to the “chaotic and embarrassing” events. (2)
Speaking ahead of the rally, Adam Taylor, Fire Brigades Union Executive Council representative for the East Midlands, said:
“Stephen Mold must not be allowed to continue dragging out his disgraced tenure. The events of the past weeks have made it crystal clear: his position is untenable.
“Firefighters from across the region are outraged by this embarrassing fiasco. We anticipate a big turnout at the rally, and everyone who believes Stephen Mold should resign is invited to join. We will not stand for this, and the public are with us.
“We rightly expect firefighters to behave with honesty, dignity, and professionalism. Having the commissioner overseeing our service fail to meet any of these standards is a recipe for disaster.
“We call on the councillors sitting on this scrutiny panel to do the right thing and ensure that Stephen Mold is held to the highest account in a public, open meeting. The people of Northampton deserve nothing less.”
