A SENIOR Essex fire officer has spent 40 days abroad this year at conferences and meetings.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mark Jones, an expert in wildfires who is based at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s new headquarters in Kelvedon Park, has been on eight overseas trips since the beginning of this year.

Some of the trips took place over weekends and many of the costs were covered by the host countries. But the trips are still estimated to have cost the Essex service about £6,600 in total.

The first of these took place in February, when Mr Jones spent two weeks in south Australia as part of a secondment and exchange programme with the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service.

Essex Chief Fire Officer, David Johnson, said: “It is worthy to note that, in an effort to minimise impacts to normal duties, international fire meetings are often convened over Friday/Saturdays. Also, Mark Jones undertook a number of these international duties in his own time, taking leave to do so.

“Mr Jones is the UK Chief Fire Officers’ Association spokesperson on wildfire. He chairs the English Wildfire Forum and is chairman of the International Firefighters’ Association’s Forest Fires Commission.

“In these capacities, he sits on the EU committee of experts and the global Wildland Fire Committee of experts.

“He is occasionally called upon to make presentations and chair meetings on behalf of these interests, and influences global fire policy development.”

Mr Jones refused to comment.