Britain's first female fire chief was appointed today.

Susan Johnson is also the first 'non-uniformed' head of a brigade in the country, as she has not come up through the ranks as a firefighter.

Susan, who comes from a business background, will take over the running of the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority later this month.

The mother-of-two replaces Brigade Manager George Herbert, who is retiring after 31 years of service within the North East fire services.

In 2004 a Government White Paper entitled 'Our Fire and Rescue Service', left fire and rescue authorities free to appoint people whose skills they felt best suited the role, rather than being restricted to appointing from within the service.

Susan, a former chief executive of the Northern Business Forum, has spent most of her career in marketing, but will have a team of senior fire officers to guide her in a major incident.

In her new role she will oversee a budget of more than £27million and 690 employees and be responsible for the delivery of community safety to over half a million residents throughout the County Durham and Darlington area.

Susan said: "At the heart of the Fire and Rescue Service is the desire to protect and serve our local communities, providing them with a modern, professional and effective service that embraces change and meets the challenges of community safety in an increasingly complex and diverse world.

"I am looking forward to this challenge and making a real and lasting contribution to the Fire and Rescue Service."

John Quigley, chairman of County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "I am delighted to welcome Susan as the head of the service and to congratulate her as the first woman and non-uniformed appointment to lead a fire and rescue service in the United Kingdom.

"Over the past five years, the fire and rescue service has undertaken an ambitious programme of modernisation to meet the increasing expectations of Government and local communities to reduce death and injury from fire and other incidents, as well as develop the wider role and responsibility for community safety, arson reduction and preparing for civil emergencies.

"Susan's formidable business experience will provide invaluable expertise in this role."

Susan attended Sunderland University and holds a first class honours degree in Business Studies and an MBA from Durham University.

She spent 14 years in national and international marketing positions for a number of household-name companies.

In 1996 she was appointed chief executive of the Northern Business Forum focussing on economic development and promoting business excellence before moving to Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency in 2000.

At Yorkshire Forward, Susan held the position of Executive Director, Business Development. She was awarded an OBE for services to New Deal in the North East in 2000.

She lives in Sunderland and has a daughter aged 28 and a son aged 15.