'There is a problem and I'm going to fix it', says new South Wales Fire Chief

Cultural change at the crisis-hit South Wales Fire is underway but it will be "a marathon, not a sprint", according to the service's new chief.

Fin Monahan says the last year has "dented the morale" of his staff and he acknowledges the magnitude of the challenge he has turning things around.

The service has faced a turbulent year after the publication of a report which found bullying, sexism and racism went unchallenged. The appointment of a controversial interim chief caused further issues for the service, with staff telling ITV it "did nothing to reassure staff".

However, the new boss insisted he had "come in with the express job of completely changing the culture."

Until recently Fin Monahan was a commander in the RAF, but last week he took up the top job at the crisis-hit South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

In January, a damning review of the culture there was published and exposed how sexism, misogyny and racism were tolerated among staff.

Fenella Morris KC's report made 82 recommendations and the chief then, Huw Jakeway, announced he would stand down.

Stuart Millington was brought in as the interim chief fire officer while the South Wales service found a new boss. However, ITV revealed that Mr Millington was, himself, at the centre of bullying allegations. Unions described his appointment as "shocking".

An employment court has since struck out the case against Mr Millington after it was argued the claimant submitted his complaint outside of the legal time limit. Mr Millington always denied the allegations and faces no further action.

In August, staff described how a turbulent 8 months had significantly impacted morale at the service. One told us that morale at the service had "never been lower".

Low morale is a big concern for the new chief. Air Vice Marshall Monahan said he has spent the last week speaking to staff and thinks "morale is very very dented".

"Going out on the ground, [firefighter's] morale is extremely dented. And it is my job to get their morale back up make sure that everyone is safe, so that we deliver a very effective 24/7 response," he said.

The new chief says he has the experience needed to transform the service: "I protect people, that's what I do", he said. The former Red Arrows commander has written papers on transforming organisational change and has overseen a change in the military.

However, Fin Monahan says he understands the size of the change needed. "This is big", he told us, "We're about to carry out, what I think is, the most fundamental culture change programme that the public service has ever seen."

The North and Mid & West Wales fire services have also found themselves under the spotlight for cultural issues this year. In June, a Senedd report said that fire chiefs across Wales had not come to terms with the scale of the cultural issues they face.

The new chief of the South Wales service insisted he is not in denial about the change needed. "This is an organisation that for about two years has been in the public eye with a culture problem.

"The people of my organisation are very clear that there is a problem, I'm very clear there is a problem - that's why I have been recruited", he said.

However, some inside his service have told us they are waiting to be convinced by their new boss. Staff have said to us they have waited more than 8 months without any change.

After almost a year of scandal at the service, firefighters we have spoken to say their new chief has an uphill battle to convince staff that change is coming.

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