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 is to create a legacy resource for the current and future generations of firefighters & first responders
Episodes
415 episodes
#428 Closing the Gap Between Fire Science and the Fireground with Matt Davis
This episode goes deep into the reality of fire behaviour as it actually shows up on the fireground, not the simplified version many of us were taught early on. Matt and I talk about how modern fuels, building design and ventilation have change...
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Season 6
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Episode 428
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2:05:15
#427 The Duty to Remember with Alan House of the Firefighters Memorial Trust
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 o...
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Season 6
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Episode 427
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1:59:49
#426 Collaboration Over Tradition: Dave Berry and the Rise of Tactical Firefighting UK
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 ...
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Season 6
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Episode 426
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50:12
#425 Droplets, Energy and the Future of Container Training with Lucas Garden
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. H...
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Season 6
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Episode 425
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52:10
#424 From the Service Strategy all the way to the Branch: Unified Fireground Thinking with Gerard Mann
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...
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Season 6
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Episode 424
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1:11:26
#423 When Doctrine Fails: Standards, Strategy and the Reality of Fireground Performance with Dan Stephens
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 servic...
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Season 6
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Episode 423
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2:04:34
#422 Health Span over Life Span Staying Operational to 60 with Chris Ward of Fit Fire Rescue part 2
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 jo...
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Season 6
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Episode 422
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1:34:18
#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