Senior county fire boss accepts new job

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s assistant chief fire officer is to leave the post in the autumn to take up a new role.

Jon Lacey has been appointed chief fire officer and executive director for public safety at Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

Jon began his firefighting career with West Sussex in 1993 as a retained firefighter.

He will leave the service having working his way up through the ranks to be appointed as the service’s assistant chief fire officer in 2020.

Jon said: “I have served most of my career with West Sussex and I have had the opportunity of working with some fantastic people over the last two-and-a-half decades. It is those experiences I will be taking with me as I leave the county. It has been an honour to serve the people of West Sussex.”

Jon also spent five years with Essex Fire and Rescue Service.

As the assistant chief fire officer in West Sussex he has had responsibility for the service’s prevention, protection and response teams as well as the county council’s resilience and emergency team.

He is also the National Fire Chiefs Council national lead for air transportation and outside of work is a keen instructor for the Air Cadets.

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, West Sussex’s chief fire officer, said: “This is fantastic news for Jon and I am sure I speak for everyone when I offer him my congratulations and say how delighted we are for him. Jon will be a huge loss to the service as he has such a wealth of experience gained over 24 years in the fire and rescue service, the majority with us here in West Sussex.”