Our Executive Board
The Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service Executive Board, led by the Chief Fire Officer set the direction and strategy for the Service, define its values and ensure it is delivering an effective and efficient service for the communities they serve.
The Board have pledged to make Devon and Somerset safe places to live, work and visit and are working towards making it one of the best performing fire and rescue services. Led by the Chief Fire Officer, the Board meet weekly to discuss and make decisions on key service issues. The Board also report to the Fire & Rescue Authority.
Lee Howell - Chief Fire Officer
Lee Howell has been a Chief Fire Officer for 15 years having first been appointed as CFO and Director of Public Protection in Suffolk in 2004. He has been the CFO of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service since 2009 and since that time has also held roles as the President of the Chief Fire Officers Association (2011/12) and Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor and Inspector for Wales (2013/15).
In April 2019 he returned to Devon & Somerset following a 14 month secondment to Avon & Somerset Constabulary, where he led on a Home Office Police Transformation Scheme bid to deploy data and analytics to reduce demand, threat and harm within a multi-agency model.
He is a Trustee (and Deputy Chairman) of the UK Firefighters Memorial Trust and is the National Fire Chiefs Council lead for the Data and Digital Portfolio. In 2019, he was the first Fire Service Officer to complete the Strategic Command Course run by the College of Policing. He was awarded the Queens Fire Service Medal for distinguished service in the 2014 New Year's Honours list.
His interests include rugby union and surfing. He is married, has two children and lives in Devon.
Glenn Askew - Deputy Chief Fire Officer
Pete Bond - Assistant Chief Fire Officer - Director of Service Improvement
Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Pete Bond joined Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service in 1997. Prior to the Fire Service, he worked in financial services and studied as a mature student at Exeter University.
Pete served as a firefighter and supervisory manager at Ilfracombe, Barnstaple and Danes Castle stations before being promoted to Station Manager with a focus on Fire Safety. In 2009, Pete was promoted to Group Manager in charge of Fire Control, before transferring back to North Devon as Group Commander.
Pete then moved to SHQ as part of the Service Development Team working on change projects and was subsequently promoted to Area Manager in charge of Strategy and Business Change and now Assistant Chief Fire Officer.
Throughout Pete's career he has been determined to ensure that the safety of communities and that of the fire and rescue staff that serve them in Devon & Somerset is paramount both in delivering and improving the Service. As Director of Service Improvement Pete will develop and bring into fruition ideas that will encourage continuous excellence and improvement in all areas of the Fire Service.
In his spare time Pete enjoys watching rugby and undertaking DIY projects.
Alex Hanson - Assistant Chief Fire Officer - Director of Service Delivery
Alex’s directorate develops the policy and provides the appropriate support in meeting the needs of the delivery of the Service. Alex ’s directorate has a wide range of responsibilities, and provides most of the research for key initiatives and developing policy, guidance and advice for staff working in prevention, protection, partnerships, response and resilience, estates, fleet and equipment. The directorate works closely with their front line colleagues to ensure they are supporting their requirements as well as working closely with other agencies and the Local Resilience Forums. The directorate works hard to ensure they understand the needs of the community and works to develop a sustainable community safety strategy.
Mike Pearson - Director of Governance & Digital Services (and Clerk to the Fire & Rescue Authority)
Mike has worked in Local Government for over 35 years. He started working in the fire service in Somerset in 2004 when it was still part of Somerset County Council and has been a senior manager with Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service since its inception in April 2007.
Mike is responsible for a range of key support functions including ICT, Organisational Assurance and Democratic Services. This important role ensures that these key support functions help to effectively deliver an efficient front line operational service.
As Clerk to the Authority and Monitoring Officer, Mike is jointly responsible with the Chief Fire Officer and the Treasurer for ensuring that the Authority makes decisions on a sound legal basis. Mike is also the Authority's Senior Information Risk Owner and as such he is responsible for developing and leading a culture of good information management and has ownership of the overall information risk policy and procedures and advises the Executive Board on information risk.
Until recently, Mike also held the lead role in national procurement, working with HM Government and other partner agencies to deliver savings opportunities for all English fire and rescue authorities through collaborative frameworks and other initiatives.
Mike is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and has previously been a qualified EFQM Business Excellence Model assessor and an MSP Practitioner. He has a keen interest in lean systems practices and is passionate about continuous improvement.
Amy Webb - Director of Finance & Resourcing (Section 151 Officer)
Director of Finance & Resourcing for Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service (DSFRS) and Treasurer (Section 151 Officer) to the Fire Authority since November 2017 (previously Head of Finance from March 2014 and Senior Finance Manager January 2013), Amy is focused upon ensuring financial rigour for the organisation and providing the Fire Authority and the Executive Board with accurate, timely and detailed financial information.
Amy is keen to promote excellence as a goal for herself, the finance team and the wider organisation, seeking to work with all functional areas of DSFRS to promote better understanding of finance and financial management. Amy is also focussed upon driving change and improvement across the organisation as a whole, promoting inclusion and diversity within both DSFRS and wider society.
"Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation."- Mahatma Gandhi.
Amy acts in a voluntary capacity as a Trustee for CFOA Charity, Treasurer for Women in the Fire Service, as well as Treasurer and Chair of Audit Committee for the Exeter Drugs Project charity and also takes an active role in EFFA, a local Animal Welfare charity.
A fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Amy qualified in 2011 and has a background in private sector organisations, business re-design and financial risk management. Amy brings positive enthusiasm, forward thinking and a desire for continuous improvement in all things.
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