Who we are
John Simpson
GCG Consortium · Member record
Saudi Arabia
Tab 01 · Profile
Profile
Former Fire Service Commissioner and Executive Director in Saudi Arabia, now an independent fire and rescue consultant in the region after 35 years in the sector. He established the Red Sea Fire & Rescue Service for one of Saudi Arabia's giga-projects, led the KAUST Fire Department, and served three decades with the London Fire Brigade, including as Borough Commander for the City of London.
In Saudi Arabia, John led the establishment and delivery of all aspects of fire and rescue at Red Sea Global – covering the Red Sea Destination, Amaala, Thuwal Island and future projects along the entire west coast – building motivated, disciplined uniformed services capable of tackling significant emergencies unaided, under a strategic integrated risk management plan and Ministry of Interior regulations. He worked at C-suite level with government agencies including Civil Defense and advised new administrative entities such as the Red Sea Zone Authority, and earlier led the KAUST Fire Department's response to a self-contained university town of around 8,000 multinational residents.
His three decades with the London Fire Brigade spanned Borough Commander for the City of London, senior roles on the Operations Review Team assessing commanders up to Deputy Assistant Commissioner level, management of London's CBRN(E) and Marauding Terrorist first-strike response teams, and community safety research and policy leadership. He holds an MSc in Community Safety from the University of Leicester, is a graduate of the Institution of Fire Engineers and holds the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety.
Tab 02 · Areas of expertise
Areas of expertise
- Fire & rescue leadership Commissioner and Executive Director of the Red Sea Fire & Rescue Service, building a private fire and rescue capability for a Saudi giga-project from pre-concept stage across a vast, previously undeveloped geography; former Fire Chief of the KAUST Fire Department.
- Emergency response & incident command Senior Operational Advisor on London's Operations Review Team, with special responsibility for assessing and selecting strategic and operational incident commanders and lead officer for London's Revalidation of Incident Command programme.
- Fire life safety Led a fire life safety team of fire engineers and inspecting officers managing passive and active life safety infrastructure across a giga-project from artist's impression through construction to commercial operation.
- CBRN & terrorism response Managed London's dedicated CBRN(E) and Marauding Terrorist covert and overt first-strike response teams; national CBRN(E) Silver Commander and Mass Casualty Retrieval Team Leader working alongside police firearms and special forces.
- Community safety & policy Wrote the policy behind the London Fire Brigade's Community Safety Programme and delivered its Home Fire Safety Visit Programme of 80,000 visits a year, between 2008 and 2012.
Tab 03 · Service record
Service record
- 2024 – present Independent Fire & Rescue Consultant, Saudi Arabia & GCC Advisory across the Saudi Arabian and GCC arena on fire and rescue strategy, capability establishment and fire life safety.
- 2022 – 2024 Commissioner & Executive Director, Red Sea Fire & Rescue Service, Red Sea Global Group-level strategic and operational responsibility for all fire and rescue at Red Sea Global, leading a team of principal officers across Prepare, Protect, Prevent and Response to create a uniquely Saudi capability in a previously undeveloped and remote region.
- 2018 – 2022 Fire Chief, KAUST Fire Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Led the senior management team of a unique fire department of around 100 uniformed staff, delivering a full range of emergency services to the academic campus and its purpose-built town of approximately 8,000 residents; Deputy Fire Chief until September 2020.
- 2012 – 2018 Borough Commander, City of London, London Fire Brigade Senior Fire Commander responsible for all operational, prevention, community engagement and safeguarding activity; strategic LFB representative on the Local Resilience Forum Strategic Board and Safer City Partnership Board, and Independent Chair of the Serious & Organised Crime Board.
- 2014 – 2018 Senior Operational Advisor, Operational Review Team, London Fire Brigade Audited compliance with national operational guidance, provided critical intelligence to strategic commanders and served as Senior Officer Assessment Centre Examiner for tactical, operational and strategic commanders up to Deputy Assistant Commissioner level.
- 2012 – 2017 Group Manager, CBRN Rapid Response Team, London Fire Brigade Managed London's dedicated CBRN(E) and Marauding Terrorist covert and overt first-strike response teams; National Co-ordination Group member and Mass Casualty Retrieval Team Leader working with police firearms, special forces and hazardous area response teams.
- 2008 – 2012 Group Manager, Community Safety Research & Policy, London Fire Brigade Led uniformed and non-uniformed research and policy teams across all community safety matters, developing LFB's Home Fire Safety Visit Programme of 80,000 visits per year.
- 2003 – 2008 Station Commander / Manager Operations, Southwark Borough Team, London Fire Brigade Managed busy multi-appliance inner-city stations handling more than 2,300 calls a year, with 63 staff and a £2 million budget; borough community safety lead officer.
- 1988 – 2003 Firefighter to Station Officer Operations, Inner Central London Operational firefighting and station officer roles across various inner central London stations.
Tab 04 · Consortium delivery