Mark Yates, who served as chief fire officer for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service between April 2010 and March 2016, has died after a short illness. Mr Yates, who died on Friday, September 19, previously served in Cornwall and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Services. Mr Yates has been in the fire service for 32 years, starting his career at Cornwall County Fire Brigade in 1984.He later became deputy chief fire officer at Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, where he commanded the Buncefield Oil Depot incident. Paying tribute, chief fire officer Johnathon Pryce KFSM (King's Fire Service Medal) said: “We would like to pass on our most sincere condolences to Mark’s family." Funeral arrangements for Mr Yates, who held the Queen's Fire Service Medal (QFSM), will be announced in due course.