Jim Doyle appointed as South Lanarkshire fire chief

Jul 31 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

STRATHCLYDE Fire and Rescue have appointed a new chief for South Lanarkshire.

Jim Doyle has recently been promoted to Area Commander for the county.

He has taken up the post following the retiral of Andy Wilson.

Jim said: "I consider this appointment a great privilege. As a resident of South Lanarkshire for over 20 years, it is a particular honour."

Jim joined Strathclyde Fire Brigade (now Strathclyde Fire and Rescue) in 1982, serving in several stations in Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

He rose through the ranks before spending the last eight years at headquarters in Hamilton in a variety of roles, including stints as brigade safety officer and in risk management.

He has seen many changes during his time in the service, including the emphasis shifting from being predominantly a service which responds to emergencies to one which actively participates in the wider community safety agenda by conducting home fire safety visits.

He added: "The community safety agenda is integral to everything we do now and I look forward to working with South Lanarkshire Council and our partner agencies in delivering that agenda.

"However, we must also ensure that we keep focused on our ability to respond to the ever-increasing range of operational emergencies which we are required to attend."

One issue that Jim hopes to tackle in his tenure as area commander is the disturbing trend of yobs attacking firefighters.

He said: "Strathclyde Fire and Rescue treat attacks on our personnel very seriously and we will have no hesitation in prosecuting anyone who carries out any form of attack on our staff.

Jim and wife Susan, who is from Hamilton, have one son and the family home is in East Kilbride.