Alex Johnson, Chief Fire Officer

I always wanted to do something where I could make a difference to my communities, so I was naturally drawn to the police or fire service. I joined Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service in 1992 and moved to SYFR in December 2017.

When I joined 30 years ago, other firefighters and officers openly said firefighting was not a job for women.  We weren’t seen as strong enough or brave enough, just employed as tokens to hit quotas. It has improved dramatically - we have far more women, the uniform has improved and there are much better facilities for women.

Outside of work, most of my time is spent as taxi driver to my 16 year old daughter. I also play netball for a local team and love walking my springer spaniel Charlie.