Meet Natalia, who moved from our HR department to join our Business Safety Team

Natalia, our Business Safety Advisor for Erewash, Derby City and South Derbyshire, talks about her experience of moving departments within the Service and her new role.

Tell us a bit about your previous role and career before DFRS

I had worked mainly within the commercial world before DFRS, where elements of my job would include work with Public Sector organisations.

I joined DFRS in April 2019, on April Fool’s Day actually, hopefully not a sign of things to come! My position was as the Service Centre Assistant in the Human Resources Department, a role that allowed me to add value to a team working to support the community – something I felt passionate about! Working for the Service added another level of pride for me, and I can’t say I wasn’t excited to see a fire truck up close!

What does your new role as a Business Safety Advisor involve?

There are three Business Safety Advisors (BSA) split across Derbyshire, providing fire safety advice to businesses – for free! We are proactive members of the business community, getting involved in events, post-fire advisory sessions and partnership meetings. We highlight easy steps businesses can take to reduce arson and also educate businesses on unwanted fire signals.

I am out and about more than my previous role, meeting with businesses, partners and crews, which is amazing!

How was the transition between roles within DFRS?

My connections with colleagues across the Service, knowledge of how departments work together and having built connections within South Derbyshire communities, all helped my transition.

There are few similarities between roles; I’m still offering advice and signposting, even if to a different audience, however the roles really can’t be compared.  My transferable skills, prior experience and foundation knowledge of the Service really puts me in a strong starting position for the BSA role.

The transition within DFRS has given me such a unique perspective of how the Service is continually adding value both internally and externally.

What do you enjoy most about the BSA role?

I joined Business Safety in August, so I’m still relatively new to the team, but already I can see that the BSA role is a perfect fit.

Together with my colleague Sarah who covers West Derbyshire, we’ve been settling into our new roles with lots of training, but no day is a typical one for a BSA!

One of the main aspects that intrigued me was the hands on nature of adding value to the community. Being able to discover and meet some of the incredible, innovative businesses around Derbyshire and offer them support in relation to fire safety, which gives me huge job satisfaction!

I enjoy finding innovative ways to raise awareness of the statutory requirements in relation to fire safety, but the most exciting part of my new role has been speaking to the businesses. The reception for support and assistance has been overwhelming, and I have a feeling this is an element that will always remain exciting!

You can keep up to date with all the work carried out by our Business Safety team, by following @DFRSFireSafety on Twitter.