New CFS chief already on the job
SA’s incoming CFS chief has been named, a day after being the first on scene at a truck fire on the South Eastern Freeway.
Incomng CFS Chief Officer Brett Loughlin, with Emergency Services Jos Szakacs (left) and outgoing Chief Officer Mark Jones.
Brett Loughlin was today named the CFS’s new Chief Officer, soon after responding to the drama on the freeway down track while on his way to a function at Government House.
Photo: Ten News First
Loughlin downplayed his role in the emergency, saying all CFS members are highly trained and ready to respond at short notice.
“Whether you are about to be announced as a Chief Officer on that day or you have just started with the agency, there is an expectation for people to assist,” he said.
“Driving to work in the morning traffic and coming across that was a little bit different to the commute that I had intended.
“I was attending a function at Government House in a white shirt and tie, which is not the best equipped for firefighting. It just goes to show you never know what you’re going to get in this role. You have to be prepared.”
Loughlin, who will take up his role on October 10, was prompted from his role as CFS Executive Director Operations.
“We have some big challenges that face the agency,” he said.
“We had the unprecedented fires of the 2019 2020 season – they’re no longer unprecedented.
“We have to be able to prepare for and manage those fires and we also need to prepare for the future fires that will be worse than that still, as we continue to see our climate change.”
Loughlin will take over from outgoing Chief Officer Mark Jones who has served the end of his three-year contract and said he was leaving “the best job of his life” to spend more time with family in the UK.
“I have very mixed emotions, The Covid-19 crisis made it very difficult for us to visit our family and for them to visit us,” Jones said.
“We went through almost two years of not seeing our children. So I therefore chose to quit at the end of the contract and didn’t seek an extension.”
Joining the CFS in 2015, Loughlin has held multiple roles including Regional Commander, Director Preparedness Operations, and Director Regional Operations positions, and previously held a number of roles with the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said Loughlin was selected after a global search.
“Mr Loughlin is an astute professional and born leader with years of experience,” he said.
