Under proposed changes, chief fire officers were to be renamed brigade managers in line with modernisation directives issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Ultimately however major policies and procedures have to be agreed and passed by the fire authority to whom the CFO reports.
In simple terms, the chief officer is directly answerable to someone who represents the interests of the general public.
Historically, many CFOs went on to join Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate (HMFSI), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Fire Services, a government agency directly under the control of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
In 2007, the HMFSI was replaced by the office of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser whose responsibilities extend to England and Wales.
The other fourteen cities in New Zealand that have career firefighters are sufficiently compact geographically to allow each one to be a single fire district.