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 |
|---|---|---|
| ACER Chair (including Organisational Learning) | Organisational Learning Board | Dr Rowena Hill |
| ACER Vice Chair (including Organisational Learning) | Organisational Learning Board | Craig Flannery |
| Airwave | Operations | Matt Cane |
| Alternative Fuels & Energy Systems | Operations | Phil Clark |
| Animal Rescue | Operations | Steve Buchanan-Lee |
| Apprenticeships (including End Point Assessment) Lead | People, Culture and Leadership | Gavin Ellis |
| Apprenticeships (including End Point Assessment) Deputy Lead | People, Culture and Leadership | 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 | Andy Strelczenie |
| 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 |
| 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 | TBC |
| 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 | TBC |
| 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 |
| 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 | Nathaniel Hooton (Interim) |
| 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 | Operations | Julie Jowett |
| Fire Engineering & Technical Standards | Protection | Richard Clark |
| Fire Fighters Charity (The) | People, Culture and Leadership | Richard Welch |
| Fire Finance Network Chair | Finance | Neil Cross |
| Fire Investigation | Protection | Matthew Jones |
| Fire Lawyers (Legal Network) | Finance | TBC |
| Firefighting | Operations | TBC |
| Firefighting Media | Operations | Mark Gosling |
| Firefighting Tactics | Operations | Simon Neill |
| 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 | Nick Smith |
| Hazmats & Environmental Protection | Operations | Dave Walton |
| Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee Chair | Health, Safety and Wellbeing | Craig Parkin |
| Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee Deputy Chair | Health, Safety and Wellbeing | Luke Gazzard |
| HMICFRS and Inspection Outcomes | Protection | Mark Havell |
| Home Safety Committee Chair | Prevention | Thomas Hirst |
| ICT Lead | Data, Digital & Technology | Advert closing: 16 October 2026 |
| 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 | Matt Cook |
| Leadership & Organisational Development (OD) (Deputy Lead) | People, Culture and Leadership | Katie Mills |
| Lived Experience Advocacy Forum Chair | People, Culture and Leadership | TBC, Advert closed: 22 September 2026 |
| Local Resilience Forums | Operations | Alex Woodman |
| Maritime Response | Operations | James Kirk / Ant Westbrook |
| Medicines and Medical Devices | Prevention | Chris Bell |
| Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Co-Leads | People, Culture and Leadership | Paula Lyons / Lauren Merritt |
| Mobility Scooter Guidance | TBC | Stuart Ruckledge |
| Modern Fuels and Energy Technologies | Operations | Kristian Clowes |
| Motorcycles/Two-wheeled Vehicles | Prevention | Mark Upton |
| Multi Agency Incident Transfer (MAIT) | Operations | Jim Powell |
| National Inter-Agency Liaison Officer (NILO) | Operations | Pat Gouldborne |
| 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) Lead | Operations | Jonathan Smith / Warren Lyndon (Advisor) |
| National Resilience: Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN: MD) Deputy Lead | Operations | Dan Cartwright |
| 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 | Steve Houldsworth |
| National Security & Resilience | Operations | Jonathan Smith |
| National Resilience: Wildfire | Operations | Jon Charters / Craig Hope (Advisor) |
| Nuclear and Radiological | Operations | Mark Nicholson |
| On-call (Strategic Lead) | Operations | Steve Healey / assisted by Andy Cole |
| Operational Communications Lead | Operations | Callum Faint |
| Operational Communications Deputy Lead | Operations | Karl Edwards |
| 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 |
| Organisational Learning (Protection) | Protection | Sami Goldbrom |
| Partner Engagement | Protection | Dave Bray |
| Pensions | People, Culture and Leadership | Dawn Docx |
| People Lead | People, Culture and Leadership | Colette Black |
| People Deputy Lead | People, Culture and Leadership | Sonia Pawson |
| People, Culture & Leadership Committee Chair | People, Culture and Leadership | Rob MacDougall |
| Petroleum, Explosives and Fireworks | Protection | Chris Kemp |
| Physical Health and Wellbeing | People, Culture and Leadership | Samantha Pink |
| 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 | Rob Cherrie (Interim) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Safety Education | Prevention | Mark Thomas |
| SiteSafe | Protection | TBC |
| 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 Lead for Organisational Learning and Research | Organisational Learning | Craig Flannery |
| Strategic Lead for Risk | Organisational Learning | Ben Brook |
| Strategic Risk and Improvement Committee Chair | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Sabrina Cohen-Hatton |
| Strategic Risk and Improvement Committee Vice Chair | Strategic Risk and Improvement | Ben Brook |
| 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 | James P Cunningham |
| 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 Lead | Protection | Steve Norman |
| Unwanted Fire Signals Deputy Lead | Protection | 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 and Recycling | Operations | 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 |