NFCC Lead Officers
Lead Officers are subject matter experts in particular area affecting or related to fire and rescue. They often chair or work with committees who ensure that NFCC is always at the forefront of emerging issues in the fire sector. Leads may be called upon to offer comment to media when their area of expertise is relevant to a major event, or they may be called upon to advise on the development of new products, guidance, or tools.
If you are interested in becoming a Lead Officer, you can view all vacancies here
Below, you can see a list of current NFCC Lead Officers.
Lead Officers
| Subject Area | Committee | Subject Matter Expert |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerated Development Pathways & Direct Entry | People, Culture and Leadership | Rob Barber |
| ACER Chair (including Organisational Learning) | Organisational Learning Board | Dr Rowena Hill |
| ACER Vice Chair (including Organisational Learning) | Organisational Learning Board | Ben Brook |
| Airwave | Operations | Matt Cane |
| Alternative Fuels & Energy Systems | Operations | Phil Clark |
| Animal Rescue | Operations | Steve Buchanan-Lee |
| Apprenticeships (including End Point Assessment) | People, Culture and Leadership | Lead: Gavin Ellis / Deputy Lead: Ashley Roberts |
| Arson & Anti-Social Behaviour | Prevention | Keith Carruthers |
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Data, Digital & Technology | Dr Francis Long |
| Automatic Fire Alarms/Unwanted Fire Signals | Protection | Steve Norman |
| Automatic Water Suppression Systems/Sprinklers | Protection | Richard Clark |
| British Standards Institution (BSI) | Protection | Nick Coombe, supported by Brett Egan-Briers, Richard Clark, Lynsey McVay |
| Building Safety Programme | Protection | NFCC PPRU Team |
| Business Continuity & Resilience | Operations | Steve Lewis |
| Business Engagement | Protection | TBC |
| Carbon Monoxide | Prevention | Mike Porter |
| Casualty Care | Operations | Simon Todd |
| Chartered Insitute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) Statistics | Finance | Martin Reohorn |
| Children and Young People | Prevention | Mark Baxter |
| Children's Education / Staywise | Prevention | Mark Thomas |
| Clutter and Hoarding | Prevention | Gail Muirhead |
| Command and Control | Operations | Lynsey McVay |
| Community Health | Prevention | Ged Devereux |
| Community Mental Health / NFCC Mental Health Board Chair | Prevention | Emily Fernandez |
| Community Risk Management Planning | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Nikki Richards |
| Competency of Protection and Business Staff | Protection | Adreena Parkin-Coates / Ian Leigh |
| Contaminants Working Group | Health, Safety & Wellbeing | Luke Gazzard |
| Counter Terrorism | Operations | Jonathan Smith |
| Cyber | Data, Digital & Technology | Tom Luxon |
| Data Board Chair & Lead | Data, Digital & Technology | Sally Wilson |
| Data Board Vice Chair | Data, Digital & Technology | Kirsty James |
| Data, Digital and Technology (DDaT) Committee Chair | Data, Digital & Technology | Jonathan Dyson |
| Dementia | Prevention | Rachael Spencer |
| Digital, Technology and Cyber (DTC) Board Chair | Data, Digital & Technology | Callum Faint |
| Digital, Technology and Cyber (DTC) Vice Chair | Data, Digital & Technology | Sarah Taylor |
| Domestic Detection | Prevention | Claire Monk |
| Driver Training Advisory Group (DTAG) | Operations | Kevin Dell |
| Driving for Better Business | Prevention | Claire Harris |
| Drones and Robotics | Operations | Tim Murrell |
| Early Intervention | Prevention | John Anderson |
| Electrical Safety | Prevention | Richard Field |
| Emergency Response Driving | Operations | Chris Else |
| Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) | Operations | Matt Cane |
| Emollients | Prevention | Chris Bell |
| Enforcement Register | Protection | Andy Jack |
| Environment & Climate Change / Sustainability Committee Chair | Organisational Learning Board | Ben Brook & Mark Rist |
| Equality, Diversity & Inclusion | People, Culture and Leadership | Jo Richardson and Louise Harrison |
| Estates Excellence (Trade Estates) | Protection | Nick Coombe |
| Fatal Five / Four Plus | Prevention | Ryan Swindell |
| Finance Committee Chair | Finance | Matthew Warren |
| Fire Cadets | Prevention | Lauren Woodward |
| Fire Control Guidance Forum | Operations | TBC |
| Fire Engineering & Technical Standards | Protection | Richard Clark |
| Fire Fighters Charity (The) | People, Culture and Leadership | Richard Welch |
| Firefighting Tactics | Operations | Simon Neill |
| Fire Finance Network Chair | Finance | James Cunningham |
| Fire Investigation | Protection | Matthew Jones |
| Fire Lawyers (Legal Network) | Finance | TBC |
| Fire Safety Intervention | Prevention | Matt Gillatt |
| Firefighting Media | Operations | Mark Gosling |
| Firefit | People, Culture and Leadership | Samantha Pink |
| Fires in Tall Buildings | Operations | Ben Levy |
| Fleet & Equipment / Transport Officers Group (TOG) Chair | Finance | Glynn Richardson |
| FM Global | Protection | Nick Coombe |
| Guidance Training and Learning | Operations | TBC |
| Hazmats & Environmental Protection | Operations | Dave Walton |
| Health & Safety | Operations | Craig Parkin |
| Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee Chair | Health, Safety and Wellbeing | Craig Parkin |
| Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee Deputy / Vice Chair | Health, Safety and Wellbeing | TBC |
| HMICFRS and Inspection Outcomes | Protection | Mark Havell |
| Home Safety Committee Chair | Prevention | Thomas Hirst |
| ICT Managers | Data, Digital & Technology | Julian Martin |
| Industrial Relations | People, Culture and Leadership | Gavin Ellis |
| Information Governance | Data, Digital & Technology | Sarah Bailey |
| International Affairs | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Matt Sutcliffe |
| JESIP, NOL, JOL | Operations | Stewart Nicholson |
| Kings Trust | Prevention | Steve McCormick |
| Leadership and Organisational Development (OD) | People, Culture and Leadership | Lead: Matt Cook / Deputy Lead: Katie Mills |
| Lived Experience | People, Culture and Leadership | Advert closing: Tuesday 26th May, midday |
| Local Resilience Forums | Operations | Alex Woodman |
| Maritime Response | Operations | James Kirk / Ant Westbrook |
| Medicines and Medical Devices | Prevention | Chris Bell |
| Mobilising Officers Group | Operations | TBC / Julie Jowett (Vice Chair) |
| Mobility Scooter Guidance | TBC | Stuart Ruckledge |
| Modern Fuels and Energy Technologies | Operations | Richard Abbott / Kristian Clowes |
| Motorcycles/Two-wheeled Vehicles | Prevention | Billy Fenwick |
| Multi Agency Incident Transfer (MAIT) | Operations | Jim Powell |
| National Resilience | Operations | Nick Searle |
| National Resilience: Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN: DIM) | Operations | Jonathan Smith / Keiran Gillam (advisor) |
| National Resilience: Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN: MD) | Operations | Jonathan Smith / Dan Cartwright (Deputy) / Warren Lyndon (Advisor) |
| National Resilience: Command & Control | Operations | Lynsey McVay / Craig Hill (Advisor) |
| National Resilience: Flood Rescue | Operations | Daniel Harnes |
| National Resilience: High Volume Pump (HVP) & Floods | Operations | Mick Dale |
| National Resilience: Marauding Terrorist Attack (MTA) Specialist Response | Operations | Jonathan Clark |
| National Resilience: Wildfire | Operations | Jon Charters / Craig Hope (Advisor) |
| National Security & Resilience | Operations | Jonathan Smith |
| NILO | Operations | Pat Gouldborne |
| Nuclear and Radiological | Operations | TBC |
| On-call (Strategic Lead) | Operations | Steve Healey / assisted by Andy Cole |
| Operational Communications | Operations | Callum Faint / Karl Edwards (Deputy) |
| Operational Guidance Forum | Operations | Barry Sands |
| Operational Infrastructure & Transportation | Operations | Matt Deadman |
| Operational Learning | Operations | Stewart Nicholson |
| Operational Preparedness Response and Resilience Committee Chair | Operations | John Roberts |
| Operational Research & Development | Operations | Jon Anderson |
| Operational Training and Education Group (OTEG) | Operations | Nick Smith / Craig Flannery |
| Organisational Learning (Protection) | Protection | Advert closing: Thursday 18 June 2026 |
| Partner Engagement | Protection | Dave Bray |
| Pensions | People, Culture and Leadership | Dawn Docx |
| People | People, Culture and Leadership | Lead: Colette Black / Deputy Lead: Sonia Pawson |
| People, Culture & Leadership Committee Chair | People, Culture and Leadership | Rob MacDougall |
| People, Culture & Leadership Committee Vice Chair | People, Culture and Leadership | TBC |
| Petroleum, Explosives and Fireworks | Protection | Chris Kemp |
| PPE Clothing | Health, Safety & Wellbeing | Brett Egan-Briers |
| PPE Collaborative Procurement | Chiefs Council | Mark Baxter |
| Prevention Committee Chair | Prevention | Chris Kirby |
| Primary Authority (PA) | Protection | Dean Dixon |
| Procurement: National Collaborative Procurement Coordinator | National Commercial Board | Claire Wrightson / Luke Malton |
| Productivity & Efficency | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Phil Shillito |
| Property/Estates | Finance | Ijaz Bashir & Paul Brooks |
| Protection Committee Chair | Protection | Dave Russel |
| Protection Committee Vice Chair | Protection | Nick Coombe / Suzanna Amberski |
| Public Health (NHS) | Prevention | Ged Devereux |
| Recovery Advisory Group | Operations | Vacant |
| Regulation & Enforcement | Protection | Brian Harvey |
| Research & Development | Organisational Learning Board | Jon Anderson |
| Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) (including PPE & BA Telemetry) | Operations | David Lynch |
| Road National Campaigns & Road Safety Partnership Calendar | Prevention | Louise Curtis |
| Road Safety | Prevention | Dan Quin |
| Safe Working at Height (including rope rescue) | Operations | Alex Tilley |
| Safeguarding | Prevention | Donna Bentley |
| SiteSafe | Protection | Mike Burroughs |
| Smoking, Tobacco and Vaping | Prevention | Joanne Henderson |
| Strategic Command & Control | Operations | Lynsey McVay |
| Strategic Data Lead | Data, Digital & Technology | Steve Taylor |
| Strategic Digital, Technology & Cyber | Data, Digital & Technology | Gillian Fyfe |
| Strategic Risk and Improvement Committee Chair | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Sabrina Cohen-Hatton |
| Strategic Risk and Improvement Committee Vice Chair | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Stewart Nicholson |
| Structural Timber | Protection | Ashley Mather (SME) |
| Suicide Prevention | Prevention | David Crews |
| Technical Rescue Capability | Operations | Jon Lacey |
| Technology Enabled Care | Prevention | Terry Pinto |
| Transport: Air | Operations | TBC |
| Transportation - Rail (including tunnels and underground structures and HS2) | Operations | Gerald Taylor |
| Transportation - Road | Operations | Dan Quin |
| UK Research Organisation (UKRO) | Operations | Dan Quin |
| Unwanted Fire Signals | Protection | Lead: Steve Norman / Deputy Leads: Per Middleton / Jon Henderson |
| USAR / ISAR | Operations | Dave Mottram / Mark Baldwin (Advisor) |
| Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) | People, Culture and Leadership | Nikki Watson |
| Volunteering | Prevention | Wendy Richings |
| Waste & Recycling Management | Operations | Lead: Neil Griffiths / Deputy Lead: James Bywater |
| Water Rescue | Operations | Bryn Coleman |
| Water Safety and Drowning Prevention | Prevention | Gavin Ellis |
| Wildfire | Operations | Jon Charters |
| Work Related Death Protocol | Protection | Andy Jack (SME) |
| Young Drivers | Prevention | Annabelle Priest |