Ben Brook, who was announced as Chief Fire Officer on Friday, has stepped away from the service after a "period of reflection" confirmed the Fire Authority's Vice Chair, Councillor Catherine Miks.

Mr Brook, who is currently Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer was announced as the successful candidate for the Chief Fire Officer role. Having started his career as a Firefighter in the West Midlands in 2001, Ben has progress through the service through various roles including Area Manager for Response and Interim Assistant Chief Fire Officer with responsibility for culture.

Nationally, Ben has served as first National Fire Chiefs Council lead for the Fire Sector Federation, drawing on his experience in fire safety, and then since 2021 as NFCC lead for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability.

However, the Fire Authority confirmed he would now not be taking on the role. West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority Vice-Chair Cllr Catherine Miks gave staff this update: “Following a period of reflection over the weekend, Chief Fire Officer Ben Brook has decided to withdraw his acceptance of the role as our new Chief Fire Officer.

"Ben feels the pull of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and the work still to be done there is greater than the pull back to the West Midlands, and so he has informed us that he will be continuing in his role there.

“I hope I speak for the service when I say we respect Ben’s decision and wish he and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service well.

“As I updated previously, we had an exceptional field of candidates and the decision of who to offer the role of CFO to was an extremely close one. As such, we are working on our next steps.

“I completely understand that after an unsettling period, some stability was welcome news and this development is not ideal for our staff – but as has been said before, the work to protect the three million people of the West Midlands has never wavered, faltered or diminished, and I am enormously proud and grateful to the Service for their continued efforts."

Aldridge Brownhills MP Wendy Morton recently called for an independent public inquiry into the service saying there were "deep rooted and troubling problems" there.  This follows Oliver Lee leaving his role as Interim Chief Executive, accusing the service of being impossible to lead.

Mr Lee was appointed on an interim basis in March following the death of the service's previous chief Wayne Brown in January. Greg Brackenridge, Chair of the West Midlands Fire Authority, has also stepped down from his post.