Steve Helps, Chief Fire Officer
Steve joined CDDFRS on 1 June 2020 as Deputy Chief Fire Officer. He is an experienced fire officer and leader, having originally joined Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service in 1992 as an on-call firefighter. He then moved to Leicestershire FRS in 1994, before returning to Derbyshire FRS in 1998 where he undertook roles as station command, head of prevention and inclusion and as an inspecting officer.
Steve has a Masters degree in Business from Lincoln University, along with a BSc Hons Degree from the University of Central Lancaster. Steve has completed the Executive Leadership Program.
The married father of two sons joined South Yorkshire FRS in 2014 as head of emergency response. He went on to lead the service’s community and business fire safety teams and spearheaded the creation of a joint community safety team with South Yorkshire Police. He also acted as Assistant Chief Fire Officer and head of service delivery.
Steve was promoted to Chief Fire Officer in September 2022, taking up the role in January 2023, he also chairs County Durham and Darlington’s Local Resilience Forum.
Steve enjoys outdoor pursuits including cycling and running.
Rob Cherrie, Deputy Chief Fire Officer
Rob serves as the Deputy Chief Fire Officer for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS). With over two decades of operational and strategic leadership experience, he supports the Chief Fire Officer and provides oversight of key directorates including Emergency Response and Resilience, and Community Risk Management.
Rob began his fire and rescue service career in Northumberland in 2001 before joining CDDFRS in 2010. He has held senior leadership roles across Training, Community Risk Management, Workforce Development and Emergency Response, delivering major organisational improvements such as the Service’s first Community Risk Profile, the nationally recognised firefighter apprenticeship programme, and the implementation of an AI‑driven scheduling assistant that aligns firefighter productivity to risk.
He holds significant responsibilities both nationally and regionally, serving as chair of various groups and committees, including the Local Resilience Forum Tactical Business Group. Additionally, he represents the Northeast on multiple National Fire Chiefs Council committees. Rob also leads CDDFRS involvement in the Integrated Fire Control Collaboration Programme and is a key contributor to national productivity and efficiency work.
Rob holds an MBA, has completed the Executive Leadership Programme, and is qualified to Incident Command Level 4, MAGIC and Strategic CBRN. His leadership style focuses on openness, resilience and supporting staff to deliver the highest standards of service to local communities.
Tony Hope, Deputy Chief Executive
Tony holds the position of Deputy Chief Executive, and he also holds the statutory position of Treasurer (Section 151 Officer) to the Fire and Rescue Authority. Tony’s role and responsibilities are extensive and integral to the strategic management of the organisation as a whole. He is the key advisor to the Fire and Rescue Authority on all financial matters and his Service responsibilities include strategic and transactional finance, human resources, estates and facilities management, digital, data and technology services, procurement, corporate communications and governance.
Tony is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and his background is in local government finance, having previously worked for Durham County Council and North Tyneside Council before joining County Durham and Darlington Fire Service as Head of Finance in 2011. He has over 30 years of experience working with the fire and rescue service in a finance capacity. Tony is married with a grown-up son.
Directors
Ben Cairns, Director of Emergency Response
Ben started his fire service career in 1996 with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, transferring to Royal Berkshire as Area Manager for Response and Resilience in 2023 before moving to County Durham and Darlington in 2024.
He has a very varied career across several disciplines accruing a breadth of managerial and leadership experience and knowledge. He has led service delivery, transport and logistics, emergency response, resilience and business continuity and transformational change.
He was the head of transformation and led the CRMP process, leading a range of transformational change programmes across the service.
He has spent time seconded to the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum to coordinate the response to COVID19 and trained as an inspection officer for His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
Ben has led the National Fire Chiefs Council Prison Fires Working Group, coordinating sector best practice to reduce the impacts from prison fires. Ben has led the service's Prevention, Protection, Continuous Improvement, Assurance, Assets and Fleet departments as the Director of Community Risk Management.
He is a member of the Chartered Management Institute.
Keith Lazzari, Director of Corporate Resources
Keith joined the service in 2006 after an earlier career in ICT followed by 17 years working in senior manufacturing management with Nestlé and latterly as a manufacturing improvement consultant with Young’s Bluecrest Seafood in Humberside. Being a trained lean practitioner and with a track record of delivering efficiency and performance improvement, Keith initially joined the service to develop early performance management initiatives and established the service’s Business Improvement Team during the early years of service transformation.
Keith’s portfolio as Director of Corporate Resources includes ICT infrastructure and support, information services, financial services and estates and facilities management. Keith is also the service lead for engagement with the Home Office in connection with the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme.
Keith holds a degree in Business Management and completed a degree in Leadership and Performance Coaching in 2009, both with the University of Northumbria. More recently, Keith successfully completed the Executive Leadership Programme in 2017 delivered by Warwick University.
Katherine Metcalfe, Director of People and Organisational Development
Katherine joined the Service as a Human Resources Officer in 2007. She started her career in manufacturing as part of her degree programme, moving to retail, the NHS and then the charity sector working in various human resources roles gaining a broad range of experience.
Katherine’s portfolio as Director of People and Organisational Development, includes human resources, organisational development, health and wellbeing, communications, governance and workforce planning. She also manages apprenticeships where the Service has been recognised externally for its innovative firefighter apprenticeship programme.
Katherine graduated from University of Sunderland in 2005 with a BA (hons) in Human Resource Management and is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and holds a CIPD level 7 Diploma in Human Resource Management.
Justin Parry, Director of Community Risk Management
Justin began his fire and rescue career in 2003 as an on-call firefighter at Sedgefield, before moving to full-time roles with Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service at Barrow-in-Furness and Carlisle. In 2009, he re-joined County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS), progressing through several operational leadership roles.
Appointed Station Manager in 2017, Justin played a key role in the service’s COVID-19 response, overseeing Assurance, Health and Safety, and Business Continuity. In 2023, he became Group Manager and Head of Emergency Response, and in 2025, he moved into Community Risk Management. He recently completed a secondment as Area Manager with Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.
Justin holds a degree in Leadership and Management from the University of Sunderland and is a strong advocate of mastering the fundamentals to build a solid foundation for long-term success. Outside work, he is a triathlete at heart, swimming, cycling, and running, and spends time with his fiancé, Lauren, and their two children, Asher and Arya, who are his top priority.