WHEN Brian Tregunna accepted the role of Chief Fire Officer at Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2005, many colleagues told him he must be mad.

After all, a Government audit the year before had named it the joint worst-performing service in the UK along with the Isle of Wight.

Fast-forward five years and Derbyshire now has other services looking enviously at its achievements after the same audit last year named it in the top six out of 45.

Even the top brass from the county where Brian started his career in 1978, Cornwall, recently paid a visit to see what ideas they could take back with them to improve their performance.

Now Mr Tregunna, 50, says he has reluctantly taken the decision to retire due to new tax rules that would see him lose 40% of his pension if he were to stay on past April 4.

He admits it leaves him with an air of disappointment that he will be unable to carry on the work he has already done since being appointed in 2005.

The father-of-three said: "It has been a fantastic period for the organisation and I have been so lucky to have been here to help push it on.

"When I told people I was taking the job, they told me I must be mad because of where Derbyshire was in 2004's Communities and Local Government Audit.

"But I felt I was the right person, in the right place, at the right time and I am very proud of what has been achieved here during my time as Chief Fire Officer.

"One of my proudest achievements is seeing other fire services from around the country coming here to find how they can improve. That is something no-one can take away.

"Those people who told me I must have been mad to take the job, well where are they now?"

Since Mr Tregunna was appointed Chief Fire Officer by the Fire Authority he has overseen what he calls "a cultural change" in the service.

In 2004 the Audit Commission named Derbyshire as one of two in the country to be making "little or no progress".

Last year, the same audit named the county second in the country to Lancashire in "managing performance".

He said Derbyshire was now seen as a modern progressive organisation which was leading the way for other services across the UK.

He said: "I believe we are open, honest and transparent with people and have created a sense of belonging that staff can identify within the organisation."

One new scheme that Mr Tregunna has introduced is an ongoing programme where he and senior officers visit each of the county's fire stations to discuss service issues face-to-face with firefighters. And the service has also introduced a recognition scheme, in which employees nominate colleagues for awards for their good work.

He has also launched a "bottom to top" employee forum, in which workers from each level meet four times a year to discuss how to make the fire service better.

Mr Tregunna has also insisted the fire service works more closely with the police, local authorities and the health service.

One project which has seen great success under his tenure has been the Youth Engagement Scheme, or YES, which has worked with disaffected young people in Derbyshire.

YES has involved firefighters training with young people who have sometimes been excluded from school.

Mr Tregunna said: "The results have been positive and hopefully made these young people realise they can have a bright future."

During Mr Tregunna's tenure, three community fire stations have been built, at Nottingham Road, in Derby, and at Chesterfield and Staveley, and work is due to start on a new station at Ascot Drive, Derby, later this year.

Councillor Paul Smith, head of the Fire Authority until late last year, who worked closely with Mr Tregunna for four years, said whoever took over from him had big shoes to fill.

He said: "I was part of the panel of people who interviewed and appointed Brian and what came over was his enthusiasm and drive.

"In the years I was chair of the authority and got to know Brian, I realised what a real gentleman he was and a pleasure to work with.

"What he achieved in his time for both the service and the people of Derbyshire cannot be spoken about enough."

Mr Tregunna joined the fire service aged 18 and took up his first role as a firefighter in Falmouth, in his home county of Cornwall.

During his 19 years in Cornwall, he experienced the elation of rescuing a six-year-old girl from certain death in a house fire.

On the flip side, he also felt the devastation of hearing how a close friend, who he trained with, had died during a training exercise.

From Cornwall, he moved to Hereford and Worcester Fire Service where he spent eight years before taking the Chief role in Derbyshire.

He and wife Gail, 52, a voluntary worker, live in Mickleover and have three daughters.

Beth, 24, and Mary, 23, live in London, while Alice, 22, is completing a law degree at the University of Nottingham.

He said that once he retired, he planned to learn to speak Spanish and French better and to travel more.

He said: "I have had to sacrifice a lot for my career which I was always prepared to accept. Now I will have the chance to spend more time with my wife away from the service.

"Two years ago, I travelled to the Himalayas and climbed some seriously high mountains. That is something I would like to carry on.

"I would like to see the Great Wall of China and do the Inca Trail hike in Peru and the Coast-to-Coast walk here in England.

"When I started working here, there seemed to be a sort of attitude that said 'we can't do that, we're only Derbyshire'.

"No-one working for the service says that now, they know they are good because the evidence is there to see.

"I'm very proud of that."