The State Government has appointed DFES Assistant Commissioner Darren Klemm as the new Commissioner of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
Mr Klemm has been DFES Assistant Commissioner of Metropolitan Operations since 2012.
He began his firefighting career in South Australia before moving to Western Australia, starting at the Perth Fire Station in 1993.
Mr Klemm brings a wide range of hands-on and operational experience in dealing with emergency situations throughout Western Australia including as State and Incident Controller during the Waroona, O’Sullivan and Toodyay bushfires, and Tropical Cyclone Olwyn.
Mr Klemm has served in the Goldfields/Midlands region as well as at the DFES Training Centre and has played major roles in the structural and cultural reform of training and professional development of personnel and volunteers.
Emergency Services Minister Fran Logan said Mr Klemm had significant experience in strategic reform and had been one of the key figures in responding to the 2011 Perth Hills Bushfire Inquiry.
The appointment is for an initial 18 months.