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PODCAST

Firefighter Podcast

The Firefighters Podcast is an award winning global podcast developing, inspiring, connecting, motivating & celebrating the world of our emergency services operators through a series of wide-ranging conversations with those within our emergency services family.Hosted by serving operational UK firefighter & Instructor Pete Wakefield who speaks with individuals from all walks of life who share a connection with, can add value to, or can develop those within the fire sector.Our driving purpose

education self-improvement

All Episodes

119:49

#427 The Duty to Remember with Alan House of the...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/12/08

This conversation with Alan House pulls us back to the foundations of who we are as firefighters. Alan started his career in the 1960s, rose through Hampshire Fire and Rescue, and has spent decades preserving the story of our service. As part of the Firefighters Memorial Trust, he helps record and honour every person who has died in the line of duty. His work reminds us that remembrance is not nostalgia. It is accountability. The story of the British Fire Service stretches from the old insurance

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50:12

#426 Collaboration Over Tradition: Dave Berry and the...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/12/04

Inside the Lancashire Tactical Firefighting Summit: A Four-Part Series on Modern Firefighting.The final episode brings the series home with Greater Manchester’s Tactical Firefighting Training Lead Dave Berry. Dave is one of the founding voices behind Tactical Firefighting UK. Dave charts the UK’s slow march toward modernization, from years of near-identical training practices across multiple services to the moment everything began to shift: when a small WhatsApp group of instructors decided to

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52:10

#425 Droplets, Energy and the Future of Container...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/12/03

Inside the Lancashire Tactical Firefighting Summit: A Four-Part Series on Modern Firefighting.In episode three, Fire and Rescue New South Wales instructor Lucas Garden takes us deep into the evolution of modern fire behaviour training. He traces how his service moved from rigid, tradition-heavy British-style tactics toward a more scientific, evidence-based approach shaped by international research. Lucas explains why understanding energy is the key to understanding fire, and how misconceptions about

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71:26

#424 From the Service Strategy all the way to the...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/12/02

Inside the Lancashire Tactical Firefighting Summit: A Four-Part Series on Modern Firefighting.In episode two, Station Officer Gerard Mann of Fire Rescue Victoria builds on Dan’s analysis by shifting the focus to how a fire service thinks strategically, tactically and culturally. Drawing on sixteen years across operations, training and doctrine development, Gerard lays out a simple but powerful framework that connects strategy, tactics, tasks and techniques. He explains why leadership alone can’t

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124:34

#423 When Doctrine Fails: Standards, Strategy and the...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/12/01

Inside the Lancashire Tactical Firefighting Summit: A Four-Part Series on Modern Firefighting.In part one of this mini series, Dan Stephens breaks down the findings from his cumulative inspection of all three Welsh fire and rescue services, focusing on operational effectiveness at domestic dwelling fires. He walks through three years of data, nearly fifteen hundred dwelling fires per year and reveals the patterns that emerge when you strip away assumptions. From the true prevalence of

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94:18

#422 Health Span over Life Span Staying Operational...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/28

In part two Chris Ward moves from the personal story into the practical blueprint. This is where the conversation shifts gears and gets straight into the habits, behaviours and systems firefighters need if they want to stay fit for the job for decades, not months. Chris opens up about the emotional toll of testing, the stigma around capability, and the reality that annual fitness fear is often a lifestyle problem not a treadmill problem. He breaks down how shift work, on call pressure, modern

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58:28

#421 Health Span over Life Span: Staying Operational...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/26

In part one Chris Ward goes deep on the truth about firefighter fitness, long term health, and the realities of staying operational into your sixties. From the early days of joining the service to the shock of pension changes, chronic illness, fear of capability tests and the uncomfortable slide from “fit at twenty eight” to “struggling at forty five”, Chris lays out why fitness for firefighters is no longer about passing a yearly treadmill minimum. It is about health span, resilience, and building

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58:16

#420 International Mens Day at South Yorkshire Fire &...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/24

This episode is a rare role reversal for me as I step into the interview chair for a live recording at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service during International Mens Day 2025. Speaking with Station Manager Gary Devonport, I explore mens mental health, identity, masculinity and the realities that sit behind the uniform. We go into some deeply personal territory, from my past experiences with self destruction and addiction to the long road of recovery, alongside a wider conversation about the role

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109:26

#419 Forging Fire: Building Teams That Last with Dr....

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/19

In this episode I sit down with Dr. Johnny Torgeson, a US Army veteran, fire officer, educator and author of Forging Your Team: Demystifying Team Development for First Responders. Johnny brings an incredible mix of military precision, academic insight and real-world fire service experience, and together we dig into what it truly means to build teams that can handle pressure, conflict and change.We talk about his forging model of leadership, exploring how to heat, shape, cool and polish a team until

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86:06

#418 Why Emotional Intelligence Might Be the Missing...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/17

In this episode I sit down with Darren Dovey KFSM, former Chief Fire Officer of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, to explore how emotional intelligence can transform leadership in the fire sector. Darren’s 35-year career saw him lead through political upheaval, the transition to PFCC governance, and national crises like COVID and extreme weather. But beyond the operational challenges, Darren shares an honest and reflective look at his own journey—from a bright but rebellious firefighter to a

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13:10

#417 The Story of FDNY Firefighter Patrick Brady

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/12

On November 8th, 2025, FDNY Firefighter Patrick Brady lost his life while battling a five-alarm fire in Brooklyn, New York. In this episode, we reflect on Patrick’s story as a firefighter from a proud line of service and the realities of the work he loved. We look at the demands of roof operations and vertical ventilation, not to question tactics, but to understand the environments and pressures that firefighters face when everything is on the line.This episode explores the physical and

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156:34

#416 Evolving the Fireground: International Lessons...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/10

In this episode, Pete sits down once again with Watch Manager Mike “Stacko” Stachowicz GIFIRE a UK firefighter, international fire behaviour instructor, and long-time friend of the podcast to unpack his experiences from IFIW (International Fire Instructor’s Workshop) 2025. From live burns and tactical experiments in Colorado to conversations with global leaders like Andy Starnes, James Mendoza, John McDonough, and Keith Stakes from UL FSRI, Mike brings a firsthand look at the science, strategy, and

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78:47

#415 STAY LEFT OF BANG: A Career of International...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/05

In this second part of our conversation with Jim McParland, we move from the technical to the deeply personal. Jim opens up about the emotional weight of a career spent on the front lines of disaster — the moments that stay with you long after the noise fades, and the quiet burden carried by those who’ve seen the very worst of human tragedy. From the aftermath of catastrophic earthquakes to the heartbreak of lives lost despite every effort, Jim shares what it truly means to live with the memories

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97:04

#414 STAY LEFT OF BANG: A Career of International...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/11/03

Jim McParland’s career reads like a blueprint for courage, discipline, and service. After joining West Midlands Fire Service in 1995, he quickly became part of the UK International Search and Rescue Team, deploying to some of the world’s most severe disaster zones. From the wreckage of the Christchurch earthquake to the chaos of the 2023 Turkey earthquake and the flooding in Malawi, Jim has been at the sharp end of international disaster response. His decades in the field, leading teams through

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12:46

#413 INCIDENT DEBRIEF: The Woolworths fire -...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/10/31

In May 1979, a fire tore through the Woolworths department store in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens. A blaze that would change British fire safety forever. What began as a small ignition behind a furniture display grew into a full-floor inferno within minutes, fuelled by polyurethane foam and toxic smoke that trapped shoppers and staff on the upper floors.This episode revisits the incident through modern eyes, unpacking the science, the tactics, and the courage of those who faced the unimaginable

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67:50

#412 Recruiting Tomorrow’s Fire Service Leaders with...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/10/27

This episode dives into one of the most important and often misunderstood parts of the UK Fire & Rescue Service. How we attract, develop, and promote the leaders of tomorrow. Joined by Hannah Vallance, Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Director at VCA Ltd, we explore what it really takes to build a workforce and leadership culture that reflects the values and future needs of the modern fire service. From values-based recruitment to feedback culture and succession planning, this

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35:22

#411 National Breathing Apparatus Challenge The...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/10/24

In Part Two of our National Breathing Apparatus Challenge collaboration, we step behind the smoke to hear from the people who design, assess, and drive one of the UK fire service’s most respected events. After following ten operational crews through their thirty minute, two fire, three casualty scenario in Part One, this episode turns the focus to the organisers and assessors — the experts who build the realism, set the pressure, and define what good looks like on the fireground.They share how the

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96:45

#410 National Breathing Apparatus Challenge 2025: The...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/10/20

In this episode, we head straight to the heart of the 2025 National Breathing Apparatus Challenge where teams of operational UK firefighters went head-to-head in a simulated high-pressure incident: smoke issuing from a rented property, three persons unaccounted for, and two seats of fire to tackle within thirty minutes. Armed with one fire truck & five firefighters each crew faced the same scenario but delivered different results.I sat down with the crews for some for raw, unfiltered hot

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96:38

#409 Evolution vs Revolution: The Journey of Tactical...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/10/16

Today we’re back with someone whose name carries serious weight in UK tactical firefighting. Dave Berry, Tactical Firefighting Training Lead at Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.With over 25 years on the front line, Dave has trained operational crews across Lancashire, Manchester, Macedonia and Montenegro. He’s a fire behaviour specialist, an educator’s educator, and a lifelong student of the craft learning shoulder to shoulder with many of the experts you’ve already heard on this

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25:21

#408 ESS LIVE - When Systems Fail: Human Factors and...

Firefighter Podcast ·

2025/10/14

In this special Emergency services show Collaboration 2025 episode, we explore how human factors shape the way emergency services deliver care under pressure. Im Joined by Andy Youngson, Advanced Paramedic in Pre-Hospital Care with East Midlands Ambulance Service, and Simon Nevitt, Market Access Manager at Galen Pharma, we unpack the realities of high-stakes decision-making, communication breakdowns, and the cultural shifts needed to strengthen collaboration across healthcare and emergency

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470 results

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