The Chief BRIAN SWEENEY’S INSIDE STORY ON

AIRPORT BOMBING ROSEPARK TRAGEDY PENSION FURORE

BRIAN SWEENEY is a man with a story to tell. You might not immediately know the name — but most will recognise the face.

As Chief Fire Officer of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, he became the public face of some of the most high- profile and upsetting cases in recent years.

Remember the Rosepark Care Home tragedy of 2004? Fourteen vulnerable people lost their lives when an inferno raged through their care home.

Sweeney, 51, was in charge of the rescue operation.

A few months after that came the Stockline plastics factory explosion, in Glasgow’s Maryhill. Despite heroic efforts of firefighters, nine lost their lives. Sweeney led the rescue.

Or what about the Glasgow Airport terror attack of 2007? On one of the busiest days of

the year, terrorists drove a burning Jeep into the terminal. You know where I’m going with this — Sweeney again.

It’s not just the high- profile events that have given him tales to tell, though.

Throughout his career, he’s seen highs and lows that most of us will never experience in our lives, never mind in our nine to five.

After Rosepark and Stockline, there was a hint of “Saint Brian” about him, as the Press clamoured to speak to him and he even started to get recognised in public when he was out of uniform and nowhere near a fire.

He’s not without controversy, though and there have been low points during his illustrious 30-year career.

One of those is the case

of Alison Hume, the Galston woman who fell into a mineshaft in 2008 and whose subsequent death lead to a Fatal Accident Inquiry, in which Strathclyde Fire and Rescue was blasted.

And when the Chief retired with a £ 500,000 lump sum as part of his pension deal and then returned to his highly-paid job a month later, critics had a field day.

Brian Sweeney retired on Friday. His story is fascinating and he thinks it’s a good time to talk.

He’s a big guy. His presence fills a room and everyone I speak to about him refers to him simply as the Chief.

He doesn’t use one word where 10 will do, frequently talks in CAPITAL LETTERS and he’s not afraid to speak his mind, even if he knows it will make him unpopular. He’s entertaining company.

That pension row and subsequent report catapulted the Chief back into the headlines only last year. So it seems as good a place as any to start...