Manchester Fire Chief Announces Retirement

County Fire Officer Barry Dixon CBE will retire in June.

After 42 years in Greater Manchester’s Fire and Rescue service, including seven years as Chief, County Fire Officer Barry Dixon CBE has announced that he will retire in June.

In making his announcement Barry Dixon said: “It has been a privilege to work for a service which can do so much good and is held in high esteem by the public. The fire service has changed a great deal during my career, particularly in the last decade, and I am proud of the improvements that have come in Greater Manchester, that are due to the efforts of each and every member of the service. After 42 years I feel I have achieved a lot, but there is more to be done and it is time for the service to move forward without me."

The Chairman of Greater Manchester’s Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Paul Shannon, has paid tribute to the County Fire Officer.

“Barry Dixon has given inspirational leadership to Greater Manchester’s Fire and Rescue Service," he said. "Working with colleagues, he has transformed the Service, making it the most modern and influential in the country. In December the national Audit Commission highlighted Greater Manchester’s Fire and Rescue Service as “pioneering,” in large part due to Barry’s outstanding leadership of the team. On behalf of the Fire Authority, I would like to thank Barry Dixon for his exceptional work leading our Brigade."

Vice-Chairman of the Authority, Councillor James Pearson, said: “Barry Dixon’s passion for the Fire Service and his 42 years of dedicated public service are an example to us all. Barry's record nationally, leading on Operational Response issues, is also pre-eminent. His remarkable career has driven Greater Manchester's Community Fire Safety work, making the communities we serve safer than ever, and for that, the Fire Authority is very thankful. "

Barry joined the City of Manchester Fire Brigade as a junior firefighter in 1967 aged 16. Following five years operational service at city centre stations, he was promoted to Leading Fireman in 1974 in the Greater Manchester County Fire Service.
Progressing through the ranks, he has spent much of his career in the Rochdale, Oldham and Bury areas of the County. He was appointed Assistant County Fire Officer (Operations) in 1995, Deputy County Fire Officer in 2000 and in March 2002, became County Fire Officer.

Barry became Strategic Director of Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) in 2003 and leads on the 'Service Delivery - Operational Response' work stream, which encompasses all areas relating to Fire Service operations, resilience and civil contingencies.

In 2007, Barry Dixon was awarded a CBE in recognition of the incredible amount of work he has undertaken nationally advising on Fire and Rescue Service matters and for his service to the communities of Greater Manchester.