Under Warden Mark Rist

Mark is a consultant specialising in fire & rescue service response, multi agency emergency planning and Incident Command training.

He retired from Kent Fire & Rescue Service in December 2024 where he was Director of Response & Resilience.

He served in East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, the London Fire Brigade and Kent for thirty one years in a wide range of roles, starting as a Retained Fire fighter and completing his service as a Deputy Chief Fire Officer.

His varied career included working in East Sussex Fire Control and as an Instructor at the Service Training Centre as well a secondment to the Princes Trust as a team leader.

He was Co-Chair of the Kent and Medway Towns Resilience Forum and was heavily involved in partnership work for the wider community response to the Covid Pandemic and the infrastructure implications of Brexit for Kent.

Mark led the Kent Fire & Rescue Service contribution to the UK Fire & Rescue Service aid effort for emergency responders in the Ukraine in response to the countries invasion and on going war.

Mark holds an MBA and is a Fellow of both the Chartered Management Institute and the Institution of Fire Engineers. He volunteers as a publicly elected Governor of the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and is a Trustee for the charity Kent (lowland) Search & Rescue.

Mark lives on a small farm in East Sussex with his wife, Carol, and a collection of animals including horses and sheep where he keeps his hand in with the skills that he learned in his pre fire & rescue service career as a farmer and agricultural contractor.

Mark and Carol have an adult son and daughter and two grandchildren.

Having for many years been a rugby player, coach and referee Marks interest now include country walks, supporting Carol with her equestrian competitions and restoring old Landrovers to their former glory.