Frank Sheehan

4:33pm UK, Wednesday November 19, 2008

The chief fire officer of West Midlands Fire Service has quit his job after being arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children.



Frank Sheehan was said to have quit for "personal reasons" but it has emerged he left because of the arrest.

The 55-year-old from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, was bailed on Tuesday.

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a 55-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday at an address in the Sutton Coldfield area on suspicion of making indecent images of children.

"He has been bailed pending further enquiries."

A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "This is a police matter and I cannot comment any further."

Councillor Peter Howard, head of West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority, released a statement confirming Mr Sheehan's resignation.

He said: "Frank Sheehan has resigned from his post, for personal reasons, as Chief Fire Officer for West Midlands Fire Service with immediate effect.

"The Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Vij Randeniya, will be acting in the role of Chief Fire Officer.

"The Fire Authority has every confidence in the corporate Board and the staff of West Midlands Fire Service who will continue to serve the communities of the West Midlands."

Mr Sheehan joined the service as a firefighter in 1975 and was promoted to chief officer in 2003.

He was awarded a CBE in June this year in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to local government.

Its a wonder they didnt cover this up hmmm

Scummy Bastard, I hope he rots in Prison. THen again he will be probably out in 2 or 3 years

He's suposed to save lives..not ruin them...he makes me

Antoinette wrote:Scummy Bastard, I hope he rots in Prison. THen again he will be probably out in 2 or 3 years

He probably won't even get to go to prison the dirty old perv.

Fury over payout for child porn ex-fire chief Frank Sheehan

Mar 23 2009

FIREFIGHTERS reacted with fury today after news that disgraced former West Midlands Fire Service chief Frank Sheehan, who was caught looking at child porn, had received a £500,000 payout.

Sheehan negotiated the lump sum from his £6,000-a-month pension pot after he was allowed to retire, aged 55, the day after a police swooped and seized his laptop.

He was arrested last November but the Crown Prosecution Service later announced it was not in the public interest to charge Sheehan.

Instead he accepted a police caution and was placed on the sex offenders’ register for two years.

Sheehan, who had been head of the fire service, faced no disciplinary action and the incident didn’t affected his pension package which is handed out by the West Midlands Fire Authority.

The authority refused to confirm the exact amount given to Sheehan, but union members have been told he will get a lump sum of at least £500,000, plus £6,000 a month for the rest of his life.

Some of that money will have been contributed by Sheehan over his 34-year career, but at least 90 per cent of the £500,000 comes from the taxpayer.

Sheehan, who earned £150,000 a year and lives in a £400,000 house in Sutton Coldfield with wife Linda and his 14-year-old daughter, refused to discuss the matter.

When the figures were put to him he said: “I’m not making any comment. No, no, no, go away.”

But Chris Downes, of the West Midlands Fire Brigades Union said: “Members feel very let down and angry that he has been allowed to receive his pension in full.”

And today firefighters reacted with disgust to their disgraced ex-chief’s pension pay day.

They claim his generous pay-out is typical of the “them and us” culture in the brigade where senior officers get preferential treatment to rank and file firefighters.

One watch commander with 15 years in the job said: “We thought he’d get a lump sum of between £70,000 and £90,000 but were staggered when we heard what it was.

“Everyone’s furious and I’m personally really disappointed with the fire authority for giving him such a good deal.

“In the past Sheehan has sacked people for much lesser offences and they’ve had their pensions frozen until they’re 65.”

A station commander, who retired last year, said he was incredulous when he heard how much his former boss was getting.

“It’s an absolute disgrace - if it was one of us we would have been treated differently and had to wait till he was 65 for his pension but he gets his straight away,” he said.

“Although he escaped with just a caution it’s still a recordable criminal matter and that should affect his pension.

“This has all been done politically because he’s such a high profile figure.”

A firefighter with 20 years experience said: “It’s obscene and has left everyone feeling resentful.

“Most firefighters still have to take a second job to make ends meet yet he was caught with child porn and walks away with a fortune.”

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2009/03/23/fury-over-payout-for-child-porn-ex-fire-chief-frank-sheehan-97319-23213513/