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Sir Ken Knight CBE QFSM DL FIFireE

During his fire service career of nearly 40 years Sir Ken was the Chief Fire Officer of Dorset and subsequently West Midlands Fire Service before becoming to London’s Fire Commissioner in 2003.

From 2007 to 2013 Sir Ken was the UK Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, advising on fire policy matters and during major emergencies. He was also responsible for the enforcement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in Crown premises in England.

After five years as the Chief Fire and Rescue Sir Ken was commissioned by the Government to undertake an efficiencies review of the 46 Fire and Rescue Authorities in England which was published in 2013. He also completed reviews of the fire and rescue services in Southern Ireland, Bermuda and Gibraltar as well as a review of the national fire safety and civil defence arrangements in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq at the request of the Kurdish Regional Government.

Within his extensive fire sector career Sir Ken has provided many other services including:

- In 2007 he produced a report for Government on fire and rescue services response to the widespread flooding

- In 2009 he 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.

- He provided assurance to Government regarding the fire safety arrangements and operational response by fire and rescue services for the 2012 Olympics.

-        In 2017 following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in London in which 72 people died, Sir Ken was appointed as the Chair of the Independent Expert Advisory Panel to give advice to government on the measures that need to be taken in high rise buildings.

For successive years Sir Ken was voted one of the top ten most influential fire sector individuals and at the Firex International Exhibition and Conference.

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 and a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Firefighters.

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