Meet the new fire chief tasked with ‘shifting the culture’ in Victoria

Vctoria’s new fire chief says he wants to bring peace to the fire services, but he’s already been accused of being too close to union boss Peter Marshall.

Ken Block is the fire services chief in Edmonton, Canada and was today announced as government’s appointment to become the first commissioner of Fire Rescue Victoria, which will combine MFB and CFA career firefighters.

“I was head-hunted, but I was watching for (the job to come up),” Mr Block says of how he came to be offered the job.

— 3AW Melbourne (@3AW693) December 3, 2019

Mr Block also served as the head of the Edmonton firefighters union and has worked closely with Victorian UFU boss Peter Marshall to advance the union’s agenda.

But in an interview with Neil Mitchell and emergency services minister Lisa Neville this morning, Mr Block stopped short of calling Mr Marshall a friend.

Click PLAY to hear to the full interview

Shadow Minister Brad Battin, meanwhile, accused the Premier of being nothing more than Mr Marshall’s puppet.