Firefighter Podcast

Mark Pearce runs Fitness For the Frontline with coaching designed specifically to reflect the physical elements of the role of a Firefighter for those applying for, currently serving in or retired from the fire service.   Listen to every episode & Debrief ever made, get full access to discounts, insider info & support the ongoing work of the podcast by clicking HERE A big thanks to our par...

From a background in high level rugby James Bull turned to  fighting fires and saving lives where over time he feels like he has lost himself as his previously confident, happy self as his mental health deteriorated in part due to the people around him and working conditions. As a Station Commander James says he knows that if he wants to raise awareness about the mental health challenges that come...

Paul served for nearly 18 years in the British Army as a reconnaissance soldier, completing several frontline tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was blown up by RPGs (Rocket-Propelled Grenades) and with an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), experiencing hundreds of firefights and seeing comrades, friends, blown up on numerous occasions. Starting on the 1st of March 2022, to help fund The HEAD UP ch...

Andy is a Strength & Conditioning Coach: Bsc(Hons) S&C PGdip Physiology  & UK Firefighter Andy works with predominantly with Professional athletes and you can find him on Instagram HERE You can find useful content about human performance from Andy HERE NOTE: FOR CONTEXT THIS WAS RECORDED BACK IN AUGUST 2022 Listen to every episode & Debrief ever made, get full access to discounts,...

A quick round up of some of the award winner's, partner's & organisers from the Fire & Emergency awards 2022. The Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of the fire and emergency services. Chief Fire Officers, their teams, industry supporters, suppliers and front-line firefighters come together to celebrate the work of brigades, teams and...

Dr Christian Morgner is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Sheffield. He was the lead on a study Understanding ethnicity and residential fires from the perspective of cultural values and practices. The Grenfell Tower and Lakanal House fires in London in 2017 and 2009 highlighted how these devasting events mainly affected people from ethnic minorities. While...

Fleur was the first female firefighter to die on duty in peacetime Britain with extensive full thickness burns involving the entire head and neck, chest, upper part of the abdomen, trunk, both upper arms, forearms and hands. Avon Fire Brigade (now Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS)) were called to a fire at 12:46 on the 4th February 1996 at Leo’s Supermarket, Staple Hill, Bristol. The Fleur Lomba...

Andrew Ledgerton-Lynch is the Managing Editor for FIRE MAGAZINE Every year FIRE magazine publisher, Fire Knowledge host the Excellence in Fire & Emergency Awards 2022. his year it will be held in London on December 9th. In todays episode we speak about: Nominees for the awards Innovation in the sector during 2023 Decontamination and how far we have come Pay disputes Strike action Culturals rev...

Ange is a professional developing firefighter within UKFRS. She joined the fire service after 6 attempts, overcoming personal challenges and setbacks on her way to the job she wanted since a child. Ange is sharing her journey in the role by creating a social media platform in a bid to help and inspire others that are wanting to join the job to encourage them that anyone, regardless of gender can a...

An Independent Culture Review with a comprehensive examination of culture at London Fire Brigade was a recommendation of the internal investigation into the death of a firefighter on development, Jaden Matthew Francois-Esprit, who tragically took his own life in August 2020. Before Jaden’s death LFB say they knew there were longstanding issues with poor culture and behaviour at the Brigade and had...

Mike McNab & Iain Ballantyne are firefighters based in Scotland who raised money for charity running the New York City marathon wearing fire kit. In our chat today we talk about:- Mike's personal battles with mental health the benefit of small habit changes on long term positive change Their involvement with Ops Florian training firefighters in third world countries  the changing culture...

Touching base again with Mark as we talk marathon running, Arnold classic, how we view fitness differently & finally what we should measure & value when it comes to "being a fit career firefighter" Mark is a career firefighter, physical trainer and health and fitness advisor for his service in helping firefighters enjoy long career in their peak physical health. Mark also runs Fi...

Following national news from unions and services on pay dispute & potential upcoming strike action regarding UK firefighter pay we do a brief recap on where we have come from & what we are facing today. Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew Listen to every episode & Debrief ever made, get full access to discounts, insider info & sup...

Gareth is an operational UK firefighter who inspires, educates and pulls back the curtain for the public about what happens in the life of a firefighter. He has really taken connecting with our communities to a whole new level with his large TIKTOK following and creative funny way of connecting with people. Gareth has also had some real challenges with his own mental health journey & speaks ab...

On 3 December 2006 fire crews were mobilised to a fire at Marlie Farm located near Ringmer in East Sussex. The incident involved a complex of buildings at which a large volume of fireworks were being stored.  As a consequence of the development of the fire, what safety measures were in place failed to protect the explosives from becoming involved in the fire and an explosion occurred killing two f...

Chad Costa is assistant chief with the City of Petaluma (California) Fire Department. With 20 years of fire service experience, Costa has worked in a variety of organizations, including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), rural districts, semi-rural districts and a city. He is the technology and communications battalion chief and a division group supervisor on Cal...

UP IN SMOKE: Stories from a Life on Fire Is Leigh's compelling collection of stories from his life as a third-generation firefighter. In 2007 Leigh was awarded a Chief Fire Officers’ Commendation for ‘Action and Dedication Beyond the Call of Duty’. He also won two gold medals at the 2008 World Firefighter Games. He is a campaigner, activist, PTSD sufferer, mental health advocate, storyteller...

As a follow requested from many here is a brief breakdown of the more specific data for a comparison of the demographics, injury patterns and outcome data for patients injured in motor vehicle collisions who are trapped compared to those patients who are not trapped. This data supported and steered the work of Tim Nutbeam and the EXIT project from episode 173. The article can be found in long form...

Today's Debrief looks back at the Incident on Gillender Street in Tower Hamlets, London which claimed the lives of two firefighters Terry Hunt and David Stokoe. The fire was attended by more than 25 fire engines after starting on July 10th 1991. Listen to every episode & Debrief ever made, get full access to discounts, insider info & support the ongoing work of the podcast by clicking...

Fire Service Rota is the most flexible and resilient scheduling and alerting software for firefighters. They provide real-time insight into the availability of on-call fire services and optimises crewing for full-time fire stations, allowing to manage all staff in one system. It offers exceptional support and insight to ensure service-wide readiness, regardless of the crewing system each station f...

Dr Tim Nutbeam is a consultant in Emergency Medicine & Lead Consultant Devon Air Ambulance. He is also one of the leads of the EXIT project which has spent years working with the NFCC, UKRO the College of Paramedics and Faculty or Prehospital Care to produce evidence-based guidelines / principles for the extrication of patients trapped in motor vehicles. There is also summary video available t...

Ben is a very experienced and educated member of the UKFRS community who had a career as a firefighter before facing a series of personal challenges that ended with him leaving his operational post. This is part 1 of 2 where Ben shares some of his experiences & explains some of the challenges and  complexities facing the UKFRS today. Click HERE to see some of Ben's published work. Listen...

Helen is an RAF nurse, wife, mother & currently living with her third cancer diagnosis knowing that this time it is incurable. We connected with Helen through the work we do as The Pink Firefighters where we raise money & awareness for breast cancer. Helen was brave enough to share her story so that others going through similar experiences can find answers, seek support and hear from peopl...

Ben is a very experienced and educated member of the UKFRS community who had a career as a firefighter before facing a series of personal challenges that ended with him leaving his operational post. This is part 1 of 2 where Ben shares some of his experiences & explains some of the challenges and  complexities facing the UKFRS today. Click HERE to see some of Ben's published work. Listen...

Brad is a Paramedic, member of HART team & father of two. We discuss the challenges facing the NHS and paramedics on the front line today, get insights into their training and CPD, the career paths and options available to people in that sector and also speak about Brad's passion as and advocate for fitter healthier front line responders. Brad also runs RescueFit® which is a fitness facil...