Sir Ken Knight CBE QFSM

Chairman

November 2015
   Sir Ken Knight - Public Accounts Committee meeting parliamentlive.tv
June 2014
   Sir Ken Knight has topped FIREX International's inaugural roll call of the Top 20 Most
   Influential People in Fire. more.....

About Sir Ken Knight CBE QFSM

After completing five years as the UK Government's Chief Fire and Rescue he was commissioned by the Government to undertake an efficiencies review of the 46 Fire and Rescue Authorities in England. The review entitled Facing the Future was published in 2013

From 2007 until January 2013, as the Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser for England, Sir Ken held the responsibility for advising Ministers and senior officials on fire policy matters and, providing advice during major and catastrophic emergencies. He was also responsible for the enforcement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in Crown premises in England.

Sir Ken was also responsible for providing assurance to Government regarding the fire safety arrangements and operational response by fire and rescue services for the 2012 Olympics.

In 2007 he produced a report for Government on fire and rescue services response to the widespread flooding and in 2009 was tasked by the Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government to undertake a review in the immediate aftermath of the fire at Lakanal House, Camberwell, London in which 6 people tragically died.

Sir Ken completed a review of the fire and rescue services in; Southern Ireland, Bermuda and Gibraltar and undertook a review of the national fire safety and civil defence arrangements in the Kurdish region of Iraq at the request of the Kurdish Regional Government.

Sir Ken commenced his fire service career in Surrey Fire Brigade as a firefighter in 1966 and subsequently, served in a number of UK fire brigades. At a Chief Fire Officer level he served as the Chief Fire Officer of Dorset and West Midlands Fire Services before becoming to London's Fire Commissioner in 2003 until 2007 (which included the London bombings) when he was appointed as the Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser.

Sir Ken is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers. He is also a founder Trustee of the UK Firefighters Memorial Trust, a Trustee of the Building Research Establishment and Chairman of the Fire Service College, Senior Management Board.

Her Majesty the Queen awarded Sir Ken the Queens' Fire Service Medal in 1991 and the CBE in 2001. Sir Ken was Knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2006 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the fire and rescue service.