ONE of West Yorkshire fire brigade chiefs is retiring.

But the county's Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Kevin Arbuthnot, will still use his experience to benefit firefighters nationally.

He is an expert on incident command and control, along with urban search and rescue and decontamination.

He will be helping the National Fire Service College in Gloucestershire with its command and control training programmes.

Mr Arbuthnot, 50, has been in the service for 31 years and leaves his post in April.

West Yorkshire Chief Fire Officer Phil Toase said: "Kevin is an outstanding individual.

"He has made an enormous contribution to the county's fire and rescue service and public safety.

"He pioneered many improvements in incident command and control which are now national benchmarks.

"He has also been responsible for developing regional resilience across fire and rescue services in Yorkshire and Humberside.

"He is also the architect of West Yorkshire's integrated risk management plan, which is designed to raise standards of fire cover.

"His breadth of vision and understanding of frontline operations made him a nationally-respected figure."

Mr Arbuthnot, of Wakefield, was born in Scarborough and first joined the North Yorkshire brigade.

After spells in Tyne and Wear and the Midlands he joined West Yorkshire as Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 1994.

He was appointed deputy chief in 2000 and has latterly been Director of Operations.

He has the Queen's Fire Service Medal for distinguished service and the fire brigades' Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

He is a Master of Philosophy, has a diploma in management studies and is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers.