Phil was born in Wakefield in 1953 and was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. He joined West Yorkshire Fire Service in 1974 and quickly rose through the ranks serving in Wakefield, Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield and was appointed Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive in 2000. Phil had overall responsibility for a budget of £100 million pounds and over 2000 personnel.
Phil’s commitment to driving forward the community fire safety agenda was accepted as best practice and formed the cornerstone of the national modernisation programme. Phil was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2004 for service to the Fire and Rescue Service and was also awarded the Queen’s Fire Service medal in 2009. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant in 2008.
During his career Phil served on many national committees and was an adviser to government ministers and to local government. He was President of the Chief Fire Officers Association in 2006/07 and played a major role in the Fire Service equality and diversity agenda.
Following his career in the Fire and Rescue Service Phil served as a trustee on a number of charities and also held 3 Non Executive Directorships. He was Chairman of 3tc Software Ltd from 2009 to 2018 and is currently chairing a standards committee on Fire risk assessors.
Phil lives in Huddersfield with his wife Lorraine and has 2 sons, James and Greig and a daughter Anna and 6 grandchildren. Phil enjoys all sports and enjoys walking and travelling.
Year Appointed: 2008
Male Deputy Lieutenant Badge
