THE Greater Manchester fire chief who took charge of the Strangeways riots and other major incidents in the city has decided to retire.

County Fire Officer George Almond will leave the brigade on March 1, heralding the end of a long and distinguished career.

As chief of the second largest and one of the most progressive fire brigades in the country, his work has been recognised by numerous awards and commendations along the way - the most recent being the CBE.

At the Strangeways prison riots he personally led the first teams of firefighters into the prison under a deluge from inmates, who had started to fire the buildings.

Bomb rescue

He was also in command in the aftermath of the bombing of Manchester city centre by the IRA in 1996. He supervised the search and rescue operations involving 150 firefighters.

Looking back on his 40 years' service, Mr Almond said: ''The incident that really stands out was a house fire I attended at Massey Street, Bury, on Christmas Day 1984, when nine people lost their lives.

''This sort of human tragedy serves to remind me of the need to place greater emphasis on fire safety in the home.

Regulations

''It was incidents like this that led to changes in the furnishing regulations, which have undoubtedly saved many needless fire deaths in the UK.''

Fire safety education is something else Mr Almond has been emphasising for the past decade, and Greater Manchester has an impressive record in reducing fire deaths through education.

Training is another area transformed under Mr Almond's leadership. He was heavily involved in launching the brigade training centre in 1985.

''The service has made tremendous progress over the past 40 years,'' said Mr Almond. ''I sincerely hope it makes as much progress in the next 40 years, particularly with fire protection and education.''