Chief fire officer takes up post

Sabrina Cohen-hatton joins the service from Surrey where she was interim deputy chief fire officer West Sussex’s new chief fire officer officially took up the role this week.

Sabrina Cohen-hatton, whose appointment was announced in late July, said she was ‘absolutely delighted’ to be taking on the job.

She has nearly two decades of fire service experience, having most recently served as interim deputy chief fire officer for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted to be here at West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and I am very much looking forward to getting out and about to all of our stations to meet our crews who keep the residents of West Sussex safe 24 hours a day.

“I do appreciate that it has been a challenging couple of months for the fire service following the recent inspection report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services but I am really looking forward to working with our crews and our staff as well as our partners to make West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service the fire and rescue service it deserves to be.”

She takes over from Gavin Watts, who retired in June. Deputy chief fire officer Neil Stocker has been acting chief fire officer in the interim.

Dr Cohen-hatton began her career with South Wales Fire and Rescue Service where she served as a firefighter, before working her way up to more senior roles in the service and eventually serving in London Fire Brigade before her secondment to Surrey.

She has helped shape national fire service policy and practice during her government secondments at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service and at the National Fire Chiefs Council.

She is a chartered psychologist and her pioneering research into critical decision-making has received national and international recognition.