Following our news article from Friday 9 November, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority Vice-Chair Cllr Catherine Miks gave staff this update today, Tuesday 12 November.

“Following a period of reflection over the weekend, Chief Fire Officer Ben Brook has decided to withdraw his acceptance of the role as our new Chief Fire Officer. Ben feels the pull of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and the work still to be done there is greater than the pull back to the West Midlands, and so he has informed us that he will be continuing in his role there.

“I hope I speak for the service when I say we respect Ben’s decision and wish he and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service well.

“As I updated previously, we had an exceptional field of candidates and the decision of who to offer the role of CFO to was an extremely close one. As such, we are working on our next steps.

“I completely understand that after an unsettling period, some stability was welcome news and this development is not ideal for our staff – but as has been said before, the work to protect the three million people of the West Midlands has never wavered, faltered or diminished, and I am enormously proud and grateful to the Service for their continued efforts.

West Midlands Fire & Rescue Authority will be making no further comment at this time.