Mark Thomas is the Area Manager for Protection at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.
Mark joined the Service in October 1992 and now has over 34 years’ experience working across all directorates in both district and functional management roles.
After spending his first 10 years as a firefighter, Mark was then a junior officer, becoming a Senior Officer in 2009. Since then, he has managed Community Fire Stations and led the Operational Planning and Policy team, gaining experience in emergency planning, blue light collaboration, the Local Resilience Forum and strategic business continuity.
Promoted to Group Manager in 2017, Mark was responsible for the Home Safety department, developing the strategy to target those most vulnerable from fire, leading the Service to its fewest number of fire fatalities and contributing twice to MFRS Prevention activity being recognised as Outstanding by HMICFRS.
Mark was promoted to Area Manager in June 2022 and having led the Prevention directorate including Home Safety, Community Safety, Incident Investigation, Youth Engagement and Education, Safeguarding and high-risk referrals.
He now leads for the Protection directorate, overseeing several key responsibilities including Enforcement and Prosecution, Local Remediation action plan, drone operations, Fire Engineering and Building Safety Review teams.
Mark has worked extensively across all directorates to support delivery of the CRMP.
Mark takes a lead officer role regarding mental health and wellbeing. Introducing Critical Incident Stress Management to the Service in 2012, he remains a passionate leader of the process, also supporting Health Education England, University College London, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists to develop a psychological safety package for emergency service staff.
Nationally, Mark is the Safety Education lead of the NFCC Children and Young People strategic group. He is a sector leader in the wider health/fire agenda.