OUR COMMITTEE
Simon Petts Chair
Simon is a returning Chairperson, having held the position for three years previously. He is an active member of both the AOA RFFS Working Group, the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) Transportation Special Interest Group as well as Gatwick Airports Resilience Planning Group.
He began his fire service career with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy in 1985. He spent nine years in the service covering risks ranging from the flight deck of HMS Illustrious to most of the Navy’s air stations and even six months covering Faslane Nuclear Submarine base in Scotland.
Simon left the Navy in 1994 and joined Gatwick Airports Fire Service. Once there he passed through the ranks to become the current Chief Fire Officer in 2017.
He lead one of the operational watches & has been involved in the training side of Gatwick’s operation since 1997, during his time as a watch officer he delivered countless initial courses as an instructor and course director. During 2008/9 Simon worked as the lead manager during Gatwick’s progress through the CAA’s ATP process, gaining accreditation for delivery of a wide range of Fire-fighter training. Simon is passionate about personal development and technical expertise, he successfully undertook the Fire Protection Association (FPA) European Diploma in Fire Protection (CFPA (EU) Dip) in 2006, and holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management from Leeds University. He is currently studying for a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Fire Service Operations with Wolverhampton University.
Lindsay Grant
Lindsay joined Cranfield Airport in 2000 once there, passed through the ranks to Fire Service Manager in 2011, improving performance across all areas of service delivery as well as leading improvement and development projects.
From 2018, Lindsay took a new role as Aviation Safety and Compliance Manager and is now responsible for the maintenance compliance and delivery of Cranfield Aviation Operations, including, Cranfield Airport, Airport Fire Service, National Flying Laboratory, Cranfield Air Navigation Service Provider and UAV/Drone Operations.
Dave Hyde
David joined Greater Manchester Fire Service in 1989 and served at Gorton for 9 years before moving to West Sussex.
He was posted to Horley as a firefighter and gained promotion to leading firefighting working at Crawley and then back at Horley. In 2001 he was promoted to Sub Officer and worked at Shoreham before moving back to Horley. In 2008 David joined the training department where he was responsible for joint recruit training along with colleagues from East Sussex and then specialised in incident command training at all levels of command.
In 2013 David took on his current role as Station Commander for Crawley and as part of this role took on the position of Gatwick liaison officer for the service. He is also the lead National Interagency Liaison Officer (NILO), forward commander for Marauding Terrorist Firearms Attack (MTFA) and subject matter advisor for CBRNe.
Catherine O’Brien
Catherine has been a qualified member of the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) since 1997.
She has trained and worked as an accountant within public practice since leaving school following A-levels. After having her two sons she became self-employed, while still working within the same industry, in order to work the hours that suit her family life.
Waine Weaver
Waine Weaver began his fire service career in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy in 1992. He spent nine years in the service being based primarily at the Fire Station, RNAS Yeovilton. He also served in RFA Argus, HMS Ocean and also served nine months in Northern Ireland.
Waine left the Royal Navy in 2001 and continued to serve as a Royal Navy volunteer reserve for a further four years. In 2001 he joined both Lancashire & Blackpool Airport Fire & Rescue Services as a fire fighter. He was promoted through the ranks to achieve the position of Senior Airport Fire Officer at Blackpool Airport in 2013.
Following the restructure of Blackpool Airport in 2014 Waine was promoted to Senior Airport Fire Officer & Operations Manager were he continued to serve for a further five years.
After resigning from Blackpool Airport in 2019 Waine now works as an independent Fire Safety Consultant & Operations Manager.
Barry Alderslade
Barry is currently working for Surrey Fire & Rescue Service as their Business Development Manager, based at Wray Park, Reigate. Duties include cross border collaboration and integration modelling of Blue light services.
Barry is due to take up a new role in September 2019 working as an SME for Capita’s Defence Fire & Rescue Services (DFRP) PROJECT.
Barry joined the Royal Air Force Fire Service at the age of 16 and gained a distinguished pass in Firefighting at the Catterick Fire Training School.
After leaving the Air Force Barry joined the Fire Service at London Heathrow in 1983. Rising through the ranks Barry eventually ended up being transferred to London Gatwick eventually gaining promotion to Deputy Airport Fire Manager. Duties included managing the Fire Service operational delivery and a commercial operation now called Gatwick Fire.
Barry also worked for 18 years as a retained fire fighter with Hants FRS which gives him not only a background in Aviation but also Local Authority FRS structural operations.
With the involvement of working with UK security services Barry was nominated to be the first NILO (National Inter-Agency Liaison Officer) from the private sector and was the National Aviation Lead NILO also sitting on the S.E SECTU Working Group.
After leaving Gatwick, Barry was offered a post as SME for Dubai Airports Fire Service. Barry also worked as a consultant for Dr Katherine Lamb’s Effective Command (EC) crisis decision making training & assessment business.
Barry is living in the Brecon Beacons National Park. He is married to Nikki with one daughter. He is a keen on/off motor cycle enthusiast, is a British Gliding Association Instructor flying out of the world’s largest gliding club in Lasham Hampshire, Paraglider pilot and enjoys general fitness sports as long as it doesn’t involve a ball.