Grant Wills

Tell us about your role

As the Director for ‘Response’ my role is to lead and co-ordinate the delivery of our frontline emergency response functions. Getting the best out of our 25 Fire Stations ensures help is sent when needed. To do this, I also lead our training function to make sure our Firefighters are highly skilled and prepared for what they may be called to. Alongside the day-to-day responding to emergencies, I also lead our specialist National Resilience functions which could be required in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, or across the country, at any time.

The other part of my role is as the Deputy Chief Fire Officer and a Principal Officer. The clue is in the title, that I am here to support the Chief Fire Officer, to ensure we deliver our plan for the public and assume full leadership responsibilities in his absence. I represent HWFRS nationally and regionally to ensure we are influencing in the best way possible for our communities. Finally, but probably most importantly, I am a Strategic Incident Commander, meaning I am on-call for large scale incidents, to lead and co-ordinate operations at these challenging times. 

Tell us more about your fire service career

I started my career in 1999 as a firefighter at Kidderminster Fire Station. It was all I had wanted to do from a young age, it felt a privilege, as it still does today. I served in a number of roles across the service from Firefighter to Area Commander and developed specialist skills in Incident Command, Hazardous Materials and National Inter-agency Liaison. In 2019 I left the Service as part of a career break to serve the public as a Police Officer, serving with Leicestershire and West Mercia Police at the ranks of Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and Assistant Chief Constable. This period of my career saw me leading large teams and commanding specialist operations including major incidents, armed operations, terrorism and protest. I returned to HWFRS in June 2026 as the Deputy Chief Fire Officer.

What makes HWFRS a great place to work?

The people and our clear combination of mission, vision and purpose, are what make HWFRS a great place to work. The teamwork and commitment to making a difference every day to people’s lives across Herefordshire and Worcestershire is what helps create a positive culture and allows each member of our teams to be the very best they can be.