New fire chief appointed to lead service
CDDFRSA new chief has been appointed to lead a fire and rescue service, almost a year after its previous officer was suspended.
Keith Carruthers, who began his career with Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service in 1996, was unanimously chosen by councillors to become the head of the service.
Carruthers is currently deputy chief fire officer at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and has worked for 30 years across rescue departments in the region.
He replaces former chief fire officer Graeme Binning, who left Northumberland after a review was commissioned into the organisation's culture, which was not made available to the public.
Binning and deputy chief fire officer Jim McNeil were suspended in March 2025 following the investigation, which came off the back of concerns raised by members of staff.
Binning left in October, while McNeil has since retired from the service, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Both were previously approached by the BBC for comment.
The service, which has more than 400 staff and covers an area of more than 300,000 people, has been led on an interim basis by Lynsey McVay, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue's assistant chief, who is set to return to her original post.
Labour leader Scott Dickinson called for an opportunity to thank McVay for her service, and it was confirmed there would be a "formal leaving event" to mark the occasion.
The proposals were already approved by the Conservative-led council, but needed to be ratified by the full council in order for the move to be confirmed.
Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson said Carruthers was a "really good candidate and we felt absolutely the correct person for the job".
