OPERATION FLORIAN - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Treasurer - Budget Planning - Project Financial Advisor

Job Titles:

• Non Executive Director - Marketing

Bethany started volunteering with Operation Florian in 2022, primarily to assist with the marketing and communication activities of the charity. She has experience of working in both the fire and charity sectors, and currently works in the unexploded ordnance sector as a Marketing Coordinator. Beth graduated from the University of South Wales with a first class honours degree in Photojournalism and has a level 4 qualification in Marketing from the Oxford College of Marketing.

Job Titles:

• Non Executive Director - Web Development

Matt has been working as a volunteer for Operation Florian since 2021, when he designed and built the charity's website. He is a Full Stack Web Developer by trade, with over 15 years' experience in the digital sector. He managed a web agency from 2009 to 2019 and was Marketing and Digital Director at the Swiss eCommerce Association before starting his new, UK business providing web development and systems integration. He did a GNVQ in the public services at college, focused on the Fire and Rescue service, including a 2-week work experience stint at High Wycombe station with Green Watch. Matt narrowly avoided joining Hertfordshire F&R before moving to Italy aged 19.

Job Titles:

• Chairman - International Representative - Safeguarding

Mick joined the Fire Service in 1975 following a short career in the Insurance industry as an underwriting clerk with an Insurance Broker then latterly with Sun Alliance and London Insurance Company. A keen mountaineer and outdoor enthusiast spent much of his spare time as volunteer with his local Mountain Rescue Team in the Preston area of the North West (Northern Rescue Organisation) First posting to Preston Fire Station followed his recruit course at Washington Hall Chorley; he progressed through the service for 32 years culminating as a Station Manager at Leyland and Bamber Bridge Fire Stations. During this time he expanded his international interest in Rescue work by getting involved in a post earthquake mission to Armenia in 1990. A Lancashire initiative to transport three flat pack houses by air and land via Moscow down to Armenia where the Team built and handed over the new homes to three Families who had been made homeless as a result of the earthquake. In 1991 Mick was chosen to lead a small Team from Lancashire in the fire service mission to Northern Iraq (Operation Safe Haven) which was a joint humanitarian project to assist the Allied Forces in rescuing the Iraqi Kurdish population who had fled towards the Turkish Border fleeing from the aggressors of Saddam Hussains military Forces. On his return, together with other volunteers he was asked to formulate the Lancashire Unit of the newly formed United kingdom Fire Service Search And Rescue Team (UKFSSART) This Team still operates today and is now known as International Search and Rescue (ISAR) Mick was awarded the British Empire Medal for his Teams work in Iraq. He gained much experience in Training and Mobilising for natural and manmade disasters. In order to extend his Teams expertise he teamed up with Steve Owen Hughes in 1994 where the vision of SOH inspired the formulation of the Charity to be formerly registered with the Charities Commission and to be known as "Operation Florian". The name was adopted from the Patron Saint of Firefighters in Europe. The rest is history, and this is the second time Mick has been Chairman in the history of the Charity.

Nick joined the board as Trustee in January 2019. He is a serving member of West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and has almost 30 years' experience in the Fire Service, both as an Operational Watch Commander and Training Instructor at Brigade Headquarters. He is the Charity HSSE lead, dealing with all Health, Safety, Security & Environment issues. Nick is an experienced Health & Safety Professional, having worked with numerous organisations and possesses both NEBOSH and IOSH qualifications. He is confident in planning, developing and implementing Health and Safety policies and procedures, then ensuring organisation-wide compliance. Nick has first hand experience of being deployed with Operation Florian Ltd and has delivered ‘RTC Extrication and Trauma' training to Firefighters on projects around the world. Holding the PTLLS 730 Teaching Certificate and the Assessors Award he is an accomplished Instructor and assessor with references such as RTC, casualty care, breathing apparatus, hazardous materials and manual handling. He is currently the Project Manager for Kenya.

Job Titles:

• Membership Secretary
• Company Secretary - Membership Secretary

Roy is the Membership Secretary responsible for updates renewals and maintaining the database of our members. In his day job, Roy is the Central Operations Group Station manager with West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service where he has worked for over 40 years. He is also an elected Councillor in his home town of Worthing. West Sussex. In 2007 he assisted in the delivery of a project in the Kursk region of Russia and then in 2009 he became involved with Operation Florian working on the Macedonia project supporting the Project Manager in delivering various aspects. Roy was elected as a Board Director of the Charity in 2013 and since then been involved in the Zimbabwe project instructing on Fire Investigation and Incident Command. also in the delivery of the Moldova project.

Job Titles:

• Project Advisor - Corporate Standards - Education Research and Training - IFE Liason

Shephard has over 19 years' experience in the fire industry, he joined the University of Central Lancashire in 2000 and is currently a Lecturer in Fire Safety Engineering and a course leader for a number of fire programmes at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and at various partner institutions, such as, International College of Engineering and Management, Oman. His teaching covers a wide range of areas in fire and safety engineering. He has worked as a fire officer at the Bulawayo Fire and Ambulance Services, Zimbabwe. He has been a member of Operation Florian since 2010, has played a key role in facilitating the donation of fire and rescue service equipment and the training of fire-fighters from various cities and towns in Zimbabwe. He is a Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) and Specialist Member of International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (SIIRSM) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Job Titles:

• Non - Executive Director - Organisation Advisor

Steve is a retired firefighter who served with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service for 32 years. During this time he carried out a variety of roles including operational, technical fire safety, community fire safety and urban search and rescue. His final role was Service Delivery Manager where he was responsible for the running of 3 fire stations as well as the Urban Search and Rescue capability. At the turn of the millennium he was involved with the Princes Trust assisting with running a leadership course as part of a 3 month course for young and disadvantaged young persons. As a result of this he was asked to assist Operation Florian with a project they were developing in Bosnia. In 2002 he was part of the first team to visit Neum and to start setting up the training that eventually took place over a number of months. Since then he has taken part in a number of projects including Paraguay, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Zimbabwe. He has also been involved in numerous fund raising events and assists where possible in activities such as container loading, stores tidying etc. In 2009 he took on the role as project Manager for a small mission to Northern Bulgaria. He organised the fundraising events, secured a fire engine and equipment, led the team in driving across Europe and finally delivered training to a number of fire stations in the region.