Firefighter Podcast

This is the first of a two-part series where I spent time down at the Headquarters of Rosenbauer UK. In this episode Managing Director, Nick Uwins took us for a walk through the facility and went into some depth about many of the products and vehicles created by this Rosenbauer UK is the sales and service contact for Rosenbauer on UK shores enabling direct supply to the UK’s Fire & Rescue Serv...

This episode shares the Journey of four fully equipped fire engines and a fully laden 18-tonne lorry packed with desperately needed equipment: ballistic body armor, breathing apparatus, firefighting PPE and medical equipment taken to support emergency services operators in Ukraine. SERA is a Scottish-based association, run solely by volunteers with the main purpose of empowering and equipping emer...

Alex Hepner is a paramedic, previous serving firefighter, war correspondent, and host of Groupcallpodcast. In today's episode we discuss: How to deliver a baby at an emergency incident  what limits the path and lifespan of a paramedics career paramedics vs clinical care technicians why turning on monitors can turn off your minds why Alex decided to electrocute a dead chicken links to Resource...

Ben Bee is a Group Manager within the UK Fire & Rescue Service with a wide range of operational and non-operational experience. In today's episode we discuss people's learning styles, National Operational Guidance, Leadership, Growth mindsets & how shared learning & acting on feedback can create the most effective and well-trained fire service for our communities now & in...

This is a recording from Home Affairs Committee on the State of the fire and rescue services in UKFRS. from members of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services Chief Inspector Sir Tom Winsor, HM Inspector Roy Wilsher OBE &  Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council Mark Hardingham This recording comes to you from Parliament live TV on Wednesday 2 March 2022 the link for w...

A group of LFB firefighters have set up a walking group that meets every week and encourages anyone joining to discuss any concerns or struggles they’re going through – before signposting anyone that needs further support to The Firefighters Charity. LFB firefighters Dean Corney and Mark Smith know how essential seeking support early is to prevent your mental health from declining further… and tha...

Sebastian Rhodes Stampa is Chief Emergency Response Section at UN OCHA With its partners, OCHA contributes to principled and effective humanitarian response through coordination, advocacy, policy, information management and humanitarian financing tools and services. OCHA’s country and regional offices are responsible for delivering the core functions in the field by leveraging functional expertise...

In celebration of International Women's day we welcome Women in the Fire Service UK to host today's episode. WFS was set up in the 1990s as a self-help group. Our members of all genders, come from all roles across the Fire and Rescue Service – from firefighters and control staff, administrative and support staff and senior officers, to members of airport, defence and works fire services. Si...

London Fire Brigade has 2 fire boats,  the Fire Dart and Fire Flash. They are moored at Lambeth river station and are used for a variety of incidents, such as people stranded in the River Thames, fires on boats, crashed boats, and riverside property on fire. What is a Fire Boat....basically A fire engine on the water. LFB's current fire boats were specially built for them. They are a class of...

In this episode we hear from many operators, functional roles and partners of UKISAR as we feast on a buffet of input from some of the inspiring people who are part of this organization. The primary function of UKISAR is to respond on behalf of HM Government to overseas emergencies, usually involving search and rescue from collapsed structures. Its volunteer members are on call 24 hours a day, 365...

My guests today are James Sayer & Cat Maidment. James started his career in 2010 as a retained firefighter with Humberside Fire & Rescue Service and served as an operational firefighter for 7 years before re-training as a paramedic at Sheffield Hallam University in 2017.  Soon after graduating as a paramedic he was offered a unique opportunity to complete a Master’s degree in Forensic Scie...

Today I'm speaking with Lieutenant Colonel John Doone of the Kosovo Security Force. In a short series of mini-episodes we will be covering the work of UK ISAR as they traveled to KOSOVO for training in cold weather deployments. Listen in over the next few mini-episodes as we discuss: International operations  The base of operations roles and responsibilities leadership development  the new di...

In a short series of mini-episodes we will be covering the work of UK ISAR as they travelled to KOSOVO for training in cold weather deployments. Listen in over the next few mini-episodes as we discuss: International operations  The base of operations roles and responsibilities leadership development  the new diverse team in training Rubble pile wide and wide-area searches  The 4 pillars of survivi...

Jeremy Sanders from Crew 1st Culture has been part of the American Fire Service for over 20 years. His leadership training company Crew 1st Culture is based in Oklahoma USA and they teach courses on leadership, culture, and ways to overcome some of the hurdles in a firefighters career. Jeremy's mission is to develop an underground movement in the American Fire Department. Get notified of each...

District Officer John Chubb of Dublin Fire Brigade has been hugely influential in transforming Dublin's response to tall and complex buildings over the last 10 years.  He has traveled to areas such as Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, the UK, and the USA. Taking lessons from every stop combing those examples of good practices and adopting them into his own service,  He has worked with...

International Search & Rescue Recruitment is considered by many to be one of the toughest selection courses still in existence within the UKFRS. Today you listened in as I spoke with the 2021 recruitment course leader Martin Foran & fellow Directing staff (although far for experienced than me) Ross Strother about what is takes to pass recruitment for UKISAR and what kind of characteristics...

The Gibraltar Everest Challenge will take place on Saturday the 29th of February 2022 at 09.00  by Firefighter Matt Coulthard with Simon Morgan, Jock Alan Stevenson, Brian Fleming, Gary Richard Edward Evans, The team are summiting the Rock of Gibraltar 24 times which will take them over 9000 metres. Everest being 8849 metres. That would be a challenge on its own, but they are dragging a car tyre o...

Simon is the C.E.O. of Hunter Apparel Solutions Limited . Simon is Accountancy with Honours Graduate of the University of Ulster, a Chartered Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, an overall winner of the UK Director of the Year Award from the IOD, he has an MBE for Services to Business and the Economy and he has over 25 years of experience in the uniform and PPE sector. Hunter Appa...

District Officer John Chubb of Dublin Fire Brigade has been hugely influential in transforming Dublin's response to tall and complex buildings over the last 10 years.  He has traveled to areas such as Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, the UK, and the USA. Taking lessons from every stop combing those examples of good practices and adopting them into his own service,  He has worked with...

The hills in the Athens suburbs of Greece are still lined with rows of burnt trees after fires ripped through the area in August 2021 as they experienced some of the worst wildfires on record.  Forest fires are an annual occurrence in the Mediterranean, but various factors have caused stronger heatwaves and a longer, more intense, annual fire season. On average, 80% of the burned area across Europ...

This is the second part of my conversation with John McDonough who has been a professional firefighter for 34 years with the Fire and Rescue New South Wales in Sydney Australia. He is currently an operational Duty Commander in charge of 14 stations in the busy inner west zone of Sydney. He was Team Leader of the Fire Operational Training Team (FOTT). This team trains all firefighters and officers...

In this FLASHPOINT I caught up with close friends and operational firefighters Dean Keeber & James McCall as we planned the next charity event for The UK Pink Firefighters. Dean & James were open and kind enough to share some really personal accounts of how their families have been affected by Cancer. The Pink Firefighters is a group of firefighters based in the UK and we wear Pink fire ki...

John McDonough has been a professional firefighter for 34 years with the Fire and Rescue New South Wales in Sydney Australia. He is currently an operational Duty Commander in charge of 14 stations in the busy inner west zone of Sydney. He was Team Leader of the Fire Operational Training Team (FOTT). This team trains all firefighters and officers in structural fire behavior and firefighting techniq...

Matt Adams is an operational Firefighter & Zoe Partridge is an operational Paramedic. Working on the front line can be challenging for so many reasons no matter your role and on top of this Matt & Zoe manage to maintain a relationship together. Today they share their experiences with us getting into the sector and how they navigate the day to day life of both operating in different roles w...

Mary Murtagh Director of Mary Murtagh Media Ltd. Media training has been around for a while now, and yet it’s still a process that many in the public eye try and resist going through.  The simple fact is that as social media has grown significantly and it has become even easier to share an article or repost a snippet, a qoute or a video clip of your best and worst moments in the public spotlight....