Speakers

Steve Findlay is a former Firefighter and served in Kent Fire and Rescue Service for 27 years before retiring in 2014. At age 16, Steve joined the Army as an Armourer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Since retiring from the Fire and Rescue Service, Steve has worked as a self- employed Training Consultant, specialising in Emergency Management and Emergency Planning, teaching in several colleges and universities, delivering courses to engineering students, Paramedics and Firefighters. Steve completed two Master's Degrees: 'International Crisis and Disaster Management' and 'Professional Practice', focusing on emergency service command and leadership. Steve is currently a Doctoral Researcher at Bournemouth University, studying for a PhD in Crisis and Disaster Management. His Doctoral research field focuses on the training of disaster volunteers. He has also undertaken vital roles across the UK emergency services: managing a Hospital Helipad team; on-site Team Leader for the Search and Recovery Operation at Grenfell Tower; member of Team Rubicon UK; joining 'Operation Tiger' in Australia to assist with the Bushfire recovery operation. From March 2020 until December 2021, Steve worked with Voluntary and Community Sector Emergency Partnership (VCS EP) as a Strategic Manager co-ordinating the UK Voluntary Sector's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this deployment, he I worked with major charitable sector organisations such as Rotary, BRC and St John Ambulance, the MOD and many National and Local Government bodies. As a Director of UK Civil Reserve, his aim is to see the organisation become one of the key players in the UK resilience arena, with resources being dedicated to the support of national preparedness, building on the lessons learned during the global Covid-19 pandemic. He and his wife, a Therapeutic Counsellor, have two children: a Paramedic daughter, and a Combat Medic son working in the RAMC.