The ACT's new urban fire chief will prioritise training and seek to draw more female recruits as firefighters face increasingly complex challenges on the job.
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Former NSW Fire and Rescue assistant commissioner Mark Brown will step into the role of ACT Fire and Rescue chief officer in July, about seven months after his predecessor Paul Swain left the territory's Emergency Services Agency.
His departure left Canberra's urban firefighters without a permanent boss from December and sparked a nationwide search for his replacement.
Emergency Services Minister Joy Burch announced Mr Brown's appointment on Wednesday and said he would bring a range of technical expertise and change management experience to the leadership team.
He will take the reins part-way through an emergency services station upgrade and relocation strategy and as the agency aims to stamp out a gender imbalance amid allegations of sexism and bullying within its ranks.
Mr Brown's experience includes 30 years as a firefighter in NSW and stints with emergency services in Western Australia and the United States.
He said he would take a consultative approach as he got to know the territory's agency in coming months.
"The other thing I'm wary of is applying a NSW approach to the ACT because there are big differences between the two and that approach just doesn't usually work."
Mr Swain left the service after allegations he was the victim of ongoing bullying by ESA Commissioner Dominic Lane.
Mr Lane was cleared of any wrongdoing. But the allegations showed signs of friction between Mr Lane and Mr Swain, who this month became the United Firefighters Union's ACT branch secretary.
Mr Brown said he wasn't aware of the specifics of those allegations but hoped to approach the chief officer role in his own way.
"I've known Dominic Lane for many years and we worked together in the NSW Rural Fire Service and we had a really good relationship.
"I think his approach of all the agencies working together is really exciting."
Mr Brown said he would also work to shift perceptions that firefighting wasn't a viable career option for women.
"It really is difficult and change is slow because we don't recruit very often and people tend to stay in the job for a long time."
Mr Brown said firefighters operated in an increasingly complex environment and faced challenges from more sophisticated building structures, climate change and terrorism.
"I think 20 years ago firefighters could be generalists but now they're becoming more specialised just because of the range of hazards they're having to deal with," he said.
"Now almost every event you're having to deal with hazardous materials, or there are photovoltaic cells on the roof and not being able to shut off the power."
Mr Lane said he looked forward to working with Mr Brown "to progress the organisational change for ACT Fire & Rescue and the ESA".
"Mark's experience in change management will be of great value to the ESA and will further build on the development of a unified service."
ACT Fire and Rescue deputy chief officer Conrad Barr will act in the chief officer role until Mr Brown begins his new position on July 20.
