Staffordshire's new Chief Fire Officer is aiming to save more lives as he heads up the emergency service during a period of change.

Glynn Luznyj is succeeding Chief Fire Officer Rob Barber, who formally retires next month.

Mr Luznyj, who started his career as a trainee firefighter at Newcastle Fire Station, has served as Deputy Chief Fire Officer since 2021.

He was selected for the top role earlier this year and on Thursday (May 7) answered questions from Staffordshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams at a Fire and Rescue Public Performance meeting in Stafford.

In a report to the meeting, Mr Luznyj said: "As I prepare to formally take up my appointment as Chief Fire Officer in June, I am proud to be leading Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service at a time of both opportunity and change. Serving the communities of Staffordshire is a responsibility we take extremely seriously, and I continue to be impressed by the professionalism, dedication and public service commitment shown by our staff every day.

"In terms of performance, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service continues to deliver a stable and reliable service to the public.

"Although we have experienced an increase in the number of incidents attended which have been driven by a range of external factors, our teams have worked tirelessly to maintain fire cover, appliance availability and fast response times – this ensures that communities receive prompt and professional help when emergencies occur.

"Looking ahead, the service is preparing for several significant changes.

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"These include the transition of governance from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to a new Police, Fire and Crime Board, alongside wider changes in local government and policing.

"While our financial position is stable in the current year, we are aware of future financial pressures that will have to be managed, and they will influence how we transform the Service. Careful planning and responsible decision making will be essential to ensure we continue to deliver value for money while meeting the needs of our communities.

"The service is also entering its next inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), with fieldwork taking place in June.

"This inspection provides an important opportunity to demonstrate how we have built on our previous positive results, how we deliver high quality services efficiently, and how we support and value our workforce.

"My vision for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is clear – to create a future where more lives are saved than ever before, the wellbeing of our people is protected and our service is transformed to make our communities and environment safer.

"It is essential that we build a fire and rescue service that is smarter, stronger and ready for the future."

Mr Adams said: "It's a big statement to say that you are going to be saving more lives than ever.

"A lot of that is actually outside anybody's control, things happen.

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"We have had a couple of incidents in recent times – I'm thinking particularly of the Big Mill in Leek.

"The service was very busy there and thank goodness nobody hurt.

"Things can happen and it's about being as ready as possible to respond.

"But I think the sentiment is exactly the right one.

"There will be big changes for councils next spring, when they will be effectively working through a final year as we go from a mix of different district and borough councils with a county council in Staffordshire to one or more unitaries, alongside a potentially different-shaped unitary in Stoke and the north of the county.

"We've got a lot of unknowns but one thing's for sure – there will be new councils, there will be fewer of them and there will be new councillors.

"In two years' time my role is going to be abolished and we've got new governance coming in, in the form of oversight from the leaders of those new councils.

"My task is for as soft a landing as possible – I appreciate the breadth of work those authorities are going to have.

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"I want them to stay focused on community safety.

"The expectation they are going to react 24/7 in the way I do is perhaps to ask too much, so a lot of preparation is going into not only how they can scrutinise the organisations and hold them to account, but also turn around decisions with pace."