Jim Smith, 56, has more than 30 years service with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service, both as an on-call duty fire fighter and an officer in charge of Cumnock Retained Station.

In addition to recruiting, training and maintaining Cumnock Fire Station, he took on the voluntary national role as Secretary of the Retained Firefighters' Union in Scotland. This involved representing retained firefighters' interests as new national structures were introduced across Scotland. When Scotland became the first country in the UK to appoint a dedicated Assistant Inspector within Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland three years ago, Mr Smith applied successfully for the post. In this role, he organised the first Retained Firefighters Conference in the UK. Mr Smith also represented the Scottish Government at the UK Retained Duty System firefighters at the UK RDS Forum, where he continues to press for change to help make the service more sustainable in Scotland and throughout the UK.

During this time, Mr Smith has run a successful business, employing 100 members of staff. He recently returned to his own business and the retained duty service in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue.

Source: www.scotland.gov.uk