I have an extensive background in the Fire and Rescue Services over a thirty-year career, starting as an operational firefighter in Essex and finishing as a Brigade Manager in the role of Director for Prevention and Protection in Staffordshire, including a two-year secondment to the National Fire Service College as a tutor. Following this, I was employed as a strategic change programme manager for a large multi-agency partnership within a local authority to help redesign how the services delivered to local populations could be improved in a more integrated way using 'systems-thinking' methodology. I joined the University of Chester in 2019 as a researcher within the Centre for Ageing and Mental Health. My work at the University involves a range of research projects and service evaluations including work with the third-sector, local authorities, fire and rescue services and the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA).