Vij Randeniya OBE

After getting a modern history degree from Bangor university in 1981, Vij joined the London Fire Brigade in 1983. He served at some of the capital’s busiest stations, including Brixton as a firefighter and Whitechapel as a watch commander.

Following a period in the training centre on officer development, he was promoted to HQ in the central operations team before taking up a role as a group commander is south London. In 1998 he was promoted to SDO, head of operations in Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue.

In 2000, Vij was promoted to ACFO in West Midlands, DCFO three years later, and CFO in 2009 – a post he held until the end of 2013. In 2007, he was awarded an OBE.

Another concurrent role was with the presidential team for CFOA, the predecessor to the national fire chiefs’ council. He was also chair of the board of governors for Birmingham Metropolitan College, a very large further education organisation. In 2010, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Since retiring he has been the vice chair of Birmingham Women and Children’s (BWC) NHS hospital and a vice-chair of the Royal Society for Public Health serving as a fellow. He now serves on the board of Dudley Hospitals NHS trust as a non-executive, the chair of the facilities management company for BWC, vice chair of Aston University, and chairs one of the Environment Agency’s committees for flood prevention and protection.