Firefighters Podcast
The Firefighters Podcast is a global podcast seeking to develop, inspire, connect, motivate, represent & celebrate the world of our emergency services operators through a series of wide-ranging conversations celebrating those within our emergency services family and encouraging the support of this incredible group of people.
Operational UK firefighter Pete Wakefield speaks with individuals from all walks of life who share a connection with, can add value to, or can develop those who choose this life path.
Our driving purpose is to create a legacy resource for the current and future generations of firefighters & first responders
Episodes
408 episodes
#421 Health Span over Life Span: Staying Operational to 60 with Chris Ward of Fit Fire Rescue part 1
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, ...
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Season 6
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Episode 421
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58:28
#420 International Mens Day at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
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 ment...
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Season 6
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Episode 420
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58:16
#419 Forging Fire: Building Teams That Last with Dr. Johnny Torgeson
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 ...
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Season 6
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Episode 419
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1:49:26
#418 Why Emotional Intelligence Might Be the Missing Tool in the Fire Service with Chief Fire Officer Darren Dovey KFSM
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 tr...
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Season 6
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Episode 418
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1:26:06
#417 The Story of FDNY Firefighter Patrick Brady
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 wo...
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Season 6
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Episode 417
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13:10
#416 Evolving the Fireground: International Lessons with Mike Stachowicz
In this episode, Pete sits down once again with Watch Manager Mike “Stacko” Stachowicz GIFIRE a UK firefighter, international fire behaviour instructor, ...
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Season 6
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Episode 416
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2:36:34
#415 STAY LEFT OF BANG: A Career of International Disaster Response & Rescue with Jim McParland Part 2
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...
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Season 6
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Episode 415
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1:18:47
#414 STAY LEFT OF BANG: A Career of International Disaster Response & Rescue with Jim McParland Part 1
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 s...
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Season 6
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Episode 414
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1:37:04
#413 INCIDENT DEBRIEF: The Woolworths fire - Manchester - May 8th 1979
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...
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Season 6
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Episode 413
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12:46
#412 Recruiting Tomorrow’s Fire Service Leaders with Hannah Vallance, Chartered Occupational Psychologist & Director at VCA Ltd
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
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Season 6
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Episode 412
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1:07:50
#411 National Breathing Apparatus Challenge The Debrief Part 2
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 th...
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Season 6
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Episode 411
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35:22
#410 National Breathing Apparatus Challenge 2025: The Debrief - Part 1
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 pe...
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Season 6
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Episode 410
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1:36:45
#409 Evolution vs Revolution: The Journey of Tactical Firefighting UK continues Part 2 of 2 with Dave Berry
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, Dav...
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Season 6
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Episode 409
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1:36:38
#408 ESS LIVE - When Systems Fail: Human Factors and the Weight of Modern Healthcare with Andy Youngson & Simon Nevitt
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 ...
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Season 6
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Episode 408
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25:21
#407 The Origin & Evolutions of Firefighter Fitness Tests in the UK with Dr Phil Turner
Today we’re digging into the roots of firefighter fitness. How we got from local “beep test and vibes” to nationally validated standards built from actual job tasks and science.Joining me is
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Season 6
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Episode 407
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2:03:55
#406 Built to Last: The Data Behind Improving Firefighter Health with Dr Daniel Higuera PHD
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Daniel Higuera a human performance coach, researcher, and Associate Professor at Santa Ana College. Dan’s worked with over two thousand firefighters across the U.S., studying how call volume, sleep lo...
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Season 6
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Episode 406
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1:40:52
#405 The History of the Fire Service
The History of the Fire Service - From the bucket brigades of ancient Rome and the Great Fire of London to the rise of professional brigades and modern scientific firefighting, this story traces how courage, community, and innovatio...
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Season 6
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Episode 405
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29:51
#404 Fuel What Matters: Performance, Recovery & Supplementation with Dan Peskett, Martin Boyce & Xendurance
Endurance sports have never been bigger—running, triathlon, Hyrox, cycling, and now the rise of firefighter challenge events are pulling more and more people into the world of testing limits. At the heart of these challenges lies a key performa...
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1:42:21
#403 ESS LIVE Confidence, Challenge, and Change: WFS with Siobhan & Ellie
Welcome back to our Emergency Service Show 2025 collaboration series. In this episode, we shine a light on Women in the Fire Service and not as a separate chapter, but as a vital force shaping the fire service ...
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Season 6
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Episode 403
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29:36
#402 DEBRIEF: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871
In this Denrief episode, we step back to October 1871 and relive the night Chicago became a city on fire. What began as a small barn blaze on DeKoven Street turned into a chain of wind-driven infernos that destroyed over 17,000 buildings, left ...
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Season 6
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Episode 402
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14:24
#401 ESS LIVE: Phil Garrigan & Fin Monahan on Leadership& Culture from the RAF to the Fireground
Over the next week we’ll be rolling out a special mini-series recorded live at the Emergency Services Show a collaboration with Catherine and the ESS team. The show is one of Europe’s leading gathering for the blue light community: ...
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Season 6
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Episode 401
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1:06:41
#400 Lt. Col. Dave Grossman Psychology of Service, Survival, Stress & the Warrior Mindset
In this episode in joined by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Retired U.S. Army Ranger, paratrooper, former West Point psychology professor and author of On Killing and On Combat walks us through how we unpack the psychology of stress, trauma, and resil...
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Season 5
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Episode 400
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1:17:41
#399 LEADERS AS GARDENER'S: Building Psychological Safety and Future Ready Fire Services with Ann Millington OBE - Chief Executive of Kent Fire and Rescue Service
In this episode, I sit down with Ann Millington to dig into what leadership really looks like in the fire and rescue services today. We talk about psychological safety, building no-blame cultures, and navigating the messy reality of budget cuts...
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Season 5
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Episode 398
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1:50:35
#398 REMEMBERING THE 343: Firefighters United for the 911 Memorial Stair Climb
I had the pleasure of sitting down with my friend Scotty Hewson to talk about his remarkable journey through aviation, firefighting, and service. Scotty shared how his love for helicopters started as a child at an air show with his grandfather,...
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Season 5
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Episode 397
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51:34
