John Roderick

Background

About John Roderick

During 30 years as a whole-time Firefighter in Suffolk, my role developed into also being a Fire Service First Aid/Trauma Instructor and I progressed to the position of the Inspector of High Risk Premises across Suffolk and East Anglia. This specialised role involved the inspecting of and reporting upon locations that are considered to possess unexpected, unusual or higher risks to Firefighters. The information gathered is then used to identify the control measures and responses/resources the Fire Service would need to employ in order to prevent escalation of incidents or unacceptable levels of risk to enable firefighting activities. During the last 10 years of my career, I began independently studying towards achieving NEBOSH qualification. Upon achieving this certification I began work as a risk assessor and also as a trainer specialising in H&S topics. I spent many years as a First Aid Instructor and an accredited examiner/ assessor, both for the Fire Service and for outside training agencies. Following retirement from the Fire Service, I took a position as Project Manager in Kuala Lumpur for a large multi-national organisation who were relocating their manufacturing facilities from Malaysia to Bangladesh. This was an exciting project, and despite the pressure and hard work involved (in very hot environments!), I was delighted to achieve the targets set. Following this experience, and 3 subsequent visits to Malaysia, I took an extended break to explore my wife's native country, The Philippines. I then began a career as a Health & Safety Adviser, mainly based in East Anglia but also travelling all over the UK. I still continue to enjoy my work, mainly due to a passion for Health and Safety, and the obvious links to my Fire Service career. It's great to know that sometimes just a chat with my clients will result in reducing risk and possibly saving lives!