Chris Gannon (footballer)

Christopher James Gannon (born 13 May 1969) is a British pioneer of global fire service reform and a former Turks & Caicos international footballer.[1]

Chris Gannon
Born
Christopher James Gannon

(1969-05-13) 13 May 1969
Westminster, London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationEmergency management specialist
Association football career
–1992 Ramsey Town
2003–2006 KPMG United
2006–2008 PWC Athletic
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Turks & Caicos 4 (0)

Early life

He attended Sir Frederic Osborn Secondary School in Welwyn Garden City. Gannon was the founder and first Chief Fire Officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the British West Indies and is an adviser on emergency service reform and disaster management to many governments. He later established his own company to improve Fire Departments worldwide.[2]

Professional life

Gannon is a globally renowned fire, rescue and disaster management expert. He has gained a reputation for reforming and improving emergency organisations in over 30 countries. Having begun his career in the Fire and Rescue Service in Great Britain, Gannon was later recruited by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the British Government to conduct a liability assessment of emergency services in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), a UK protectorate in the West Indies. As a result of the findings, and at just 34 years of age, he was commissioned as the first national Chief Fire Officer with a mandate to design, build and manage fire and rescue services from concept to completion. [3]

He was later given the added responsibility of managing fire services at the 6 national and international airports to ICAO standards. He was the British Government Fire Service adviser for the UK Overseas Territories between 2002–2009 and formed part of the FCO Disaster Management Review Team. He also gained accreditation from the United Nations (OCHA) as a disaster and emergency management specialist. After achieving all the set Government objectives in the TCI within 6 years, he was recruited by a private company to do the same for the private, luxury island of Ambergris Cay.

The celebrated U.S publication 'Fire Chief Magazine' published an article on his work in 2008, entitled 'Fires Mercenary' which led to government sponsored reviews in the Caribbean and Latin America. He was decorated for his work in Bolivia by President Evo Morales.[4]

In 2009 he founded 'Gannon Emergency Solutions'[5] with offices in London, the USA and South America and provides specialist Fire Service reviews for Governments, NGO's, private companies and institutions. [6][7][8]

When asked to describe his methodology, Gannon states; "Unlike most inspctors or consultants in the industry, I haven't retired from one state or national organisation and don't simply repeat what was learned during that career. When people invite me to review their organization, they get someone who brings a unique, global basket of experience to the table. I take the very best practices that I have encountered worldwide and apply them, where appropriate, to each circumstance".

Fire Chief Chris Gannon
Chris Gannon Meets President Morales

Football career

Club

Gannon was a promising player at schoolboy level, he played in the same Sir Frederic Osborn school team as former England international goalkeeper, David James. He represented both Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire at County schools level. Despite being scouted by professional teams, his UK playing career took place in the semi professional divisions of the Isthmian, Jewson and United Counties Leagues. He also latterly played in the Peterborough Premier League winning titles with both Molins FC and Pearl Assurance FC.[9]

International

While working in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Gannon was selected to represent the country as a central defender in their FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns in 2004 and 2008,[10] [11] An article published by Bloomberg said that the players had to raise finance for their own travel fees for away games. Gannon later stated that the Turks and Caicos Islands FA were 'strongly encouraged' by FIFA and CONCACAF to field an almost entirely expatriate team in World Cup qualifying games to justify receipt of funds from the FIFA "Goal" programme. [12]

  • CFO Chris Gannon
  • Fire Chief Chris Gannon
  • Chris Gannon Meets President Morales

References
  1. Chris Gannon – FIFA competition record (archived)
  2. "About Us". Gannon Emergency. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  3. "Turks and Caicos Weekly News".
  4. HighBeam
  5. http://www.gannonemergency.com
  6. http://www.ife-usa.org/Attachments/AGM2009MeetingAgenda.pdf%5B%5D
  7. "Fire service reform – A global issue". 26 June 2018.
  8. https://www.firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-10/issue-5/vehicle-operation-and-apparatus/equipment-donation.html
  9. SOCCER SPECIAL: Chris pleased to be the world's worst! - Peterborough Today
  10. Chris Gannon – FIFA competition record (archived)
  11. Appearances for Turks and Caicos Islands National Team - RSSSF
  12. Duff, Alex (21 October 2013). "FIFA Grants Seen Wasted as Blatter Roadshow Arrives in Caribbean". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 October 2013.

https://iffmag.mdmpublishing.com/fire-service-reform-a-global-issue/

https://iffmag.mdmpublishing.com/gannon-emergency-solutions-how-good-is-my-fire-service/

https://www.firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-10/issue-5/vehicle-operation-and-apparatus/equipment-donation.html

www.gannonemergency.com

www.gannonemergencyusa.com

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