Two senior UK Fire Officers have started new roles in West Sussex. Sean Ruth and Lee Neale join County Fire Officer Max Hood and Director of Resources Matt Sturman to complete a new-look management team for the county’s Fire and Rescue Service.
Deputy County Fire Officer Sean Ruth joins West Sussex from Buckinghamshire. Starting as a firefighter in West Midlands before moving to Surrey, his career has included roles within the Department for Communities and Local Government where he helped advise Ministers and senior officials on policy.
Sean has also worked extensively with both the Audit Commission and Health and Safety Executive in their assessments of UK fire services, and was involved in the investigation of a major fire in Warwickshire that killed four firefighters.
Lee Neale has been appointed Assistant County Fire Officer with responsibility for the Services’ protection, prevention and response arrangements.
Lee has 25 years’ experience with Essex Fire and Rescue Service where he served in a variety of operational roles. He was the senior Essex fire officer in the response to the tidal surge, which threatened to flood East Anglia in 2007. He also worked with fire colleagues from 39 other countries in an international forum on wildfires that set policies, training and mutual aid arrangements.
Peter Evans, Cabinet Member for Public Protection, welcomed the two new recruits.
“Both Sean and Lee bring a wide range of experience and I am pleased they’re joining us in West Sussex,” he said.
“The Fire and Rescue Service faces many new challenges, as well as the more traditional, and by bringing Sean and Lee’s expertise into the service, our firefighters will be better equipped to deal with the future.”
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