Firefighter Podcast

Episoder

• 
  #496 Humble, Hungry & Smart: How to become the teammate your crew can rely on 06.08.2026 27min

  In this short solo episode, Im doing something a little different as one of the most common emails i get is about personal development tools - so here is one i think might be useful. In this episode im going to revisit & explore Patrick Lencioni’s book The Ideal Team Player and its simple but powerful framework of being humble, hungry and smart. I look at how these three qualities can support your own personal and professional development, help you become a stronger and more valuabl...
• 
  #495 Creating Thinking Firefighters with Chief Jason Caughey 03.08.2026 1t 9min

  In this episode, im joined by Chief Jason Caughey, a fire service leader with more than 30 years of experience and the Fire Chief of Laramie County Fire Authority in Wyoming, to explore the difference between simply training firefighters to complete tasks and genuinely developing people who can think, adapt, take ownership and act with confidence. Together, we examine high-agency leadership, measurable performance standards, psychological safety, servant leadership and the dangers of cu...
• 
  #494 DEBRIEF: 11 Minutes to Fireball - Boyd Street, Downtown LA, May 16th 2020 27.07.2026 29min

  In this incident debrief, we examine the Boyd Street fire in Downtown Los Angeles, where what first appeared to be a routine commercial building fire rapidly escalated into a catastrophic fireball that injured 12 Los Angeles firefighters. We break down the building, the hidden hazards inside, the timeline of the response, the tactical decisions around entry and ventilation, the fire behaviour that led to the explosion, and the Mayday that followed. This episode explores the brutal consequence...
• 
  #493 On-Call & Volunteer Retention Systems: The Perennial Problem - Solving It for the 21st Century 20.07.2026 1t 13min

  In this episode, we explore one of the fire service’s most persistent challenges: how we recruit, retain and properly support on-call and volunteer firefighters in a world that has changed faster than the systems designed to sustain them. Joined by Brittany Hollerbach, Emelie Lantz and Dr Steve Sadler, we look beyond the usual “people don’t want to volunteer anymore” narrative and ask whether the real issue is that the model itself no longer fits modern family life, employment pressures...
• 
  #492 DEBRIEF: Glasgow School of Art Fire, Failure and the Hidden Highway 13.07.2026 54min

  In this incident debrief, we examine the two devastating fires at the Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building in 2014 and 2018, unpacking how heritage construction, hidden ventilation ducts, timber voids, compromised fire protection during restoration, delayed detection, and an unfinished water mist system combined to create one of the most painful fire safety lessons in modern UK firefighting. The episode explores the operational response, the difficult shift to defensive firefight...
• 
  #491 Modern Fire officer with Jared Vermeulen 06.07.2026 1t 41min

  “Speak softly and carry a big stick” is more than Jared Vermeulen’s favourite quote it reflects the way he thinks about leadership, responsibility, and the modern fire officer. Born and raised in the blue-collar fishing town of Jupiter, Florida, Jared grew up around construction and was originally working towards a career in industrial design engineering before the fire service found him. After completing his technical training and emergency medical degree with PBCC, he was hired by the...
• 
  #490 High Rise Masterclass with Brent Brooks Ep 3 High Rise Search, Flow Path & Survivability 02.07.2026 57min

  In this special High Rise Masterclass miniseries, The Firefighters Podcast brings you live recordings direct from the International Tall Buildings Conference and specialist high rise firefighting masterclass held in London in May 2026. Across this series, internationally respected high rise firefighting instructor Brent Brooks shares decades of operational experience, command insight and research driven learning around modern tall building firefighting. In episode three Brent takes us d...
• 
  #489 More Than Coffee: Rescue 1 & the Mission of Fire Department Coffee with Randy James 29.06.2026 1t 35min

  Today’s episode is with Randy James from Fire Department Coffee. Randy is a career firefighter and paramedic from Rockford, Illinois, serving since April 2000. His journey took him to Ladder 5, working alongside Fire Department Coffee founder Luke Schneider, before becoming Director of Brand Relations and playing a major role in the Fire Department Coffee Charitable Foundation and the Rescue One project. Rescue One is not just a fire truck that serves coffee. It is a disaster relief vehicle, ...
• 
  #488 Firefighters with Parkinson’s: The Diagnosis No One Sees Coming 24.06.2026 1t 10min

  Today is about what happens when the job we love meets a diagnosis that can change everything. I am joined by Dawn Harding, a retired Chief Fire Officer, alongside Steve Norman, former Deputy Assistant Commissioner with London Fire Brigade and now working with the National Fire Chiefs Council, and David Little, a former MOD firefighter and on call Watch Manager. Together, they are part of the Firefighter Parkinson’s Support Group, a newly established group created to support firefighters, ret...
• 
  #487 Mr Honest Work aka Jaguar Wattley 22.06.2026 1t 11min

  Jag, better known to many online as Mr Honest has absolutely exploded across Instagram and TikTok over the last year and has become one of the most recognisable firefighter voices on social media, not just here in the UK, but across the wider fire service community internationally. What makes Jag stand out is that he is not just creating content from the sidelines. He is a serving firefighter with London Fire Brigade, living the job, understanding the culture, and using his platform to ...
• 
  #486 Why Persistence Matters: Firefighter, Gladiator & Competitive Optimist | Millie Margetts 17.06.2026 1t 8min

  Millie Margetts is a firefighter with Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, a coach, athlete, Gladiators semi finalist, and someone who embodies the power of persistence. In this episode, we explore her journey into the fire service after years of setbacks, the challenges and opportunities that came with appearing on one of the UK's biggest television shows, and the mindset required to keep moving forward when things don't go to plan. From firefighting and fitness to confidence, social media, r...
• 
  #485 Leather, Legacy & the shield with Justin Fitzwater of Fitzwater Leather 15.06.2026 1t 37min

  CLICK HERE JOIN ME AT BLUE LIGHT SHOW | LONDON | JULY 2026 My guest today is Justin Fitzwater, firefighter with the Kansas City Fire Department and founder of Fitzwater Leather, a company renowned throughout the American fire service for creating some of the most stunning custom helmet fronts and leatherwork you'll ever see. Fitzwater Leather INSTAGRAM Fitzwater Leather WEBSITE Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew Podcast Apparel, Hoodies, Fl...
• 
  #484 You Can't Put It Out - Thermal Runaway, EV Fires & the Health Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight with Martin Brown 11.06.2026 1t 11min

  CLICK HERE JOIN ME AT BLUE LIGHT SHOW | LONDON | JULY 2026 In this episode I sit down with Martin Brown, Chartered Engineer and Improvement Consultant at HORIBA MIRA, and one of the world's leading experts on the safety of new energy vehicles. With nearly three decades of experience designing and testing electric, hydrogen, hybrid and cryogenic vehicles, Martin brings a level of operational and scientific authority that is rarely found in a single conversation. We cover the real hazards firef...
• 
  #483 Debrief - Doorway to Hell | 2 Forest Laneway, North York, Toronto, Canada | January 6th 1995 08.06.2026 46min

  CLICK HERE JOIN ME AT BLUE LIGHT SHOW | LONDON | JULY 2026 On the 6th of January 1995, at five in the morning, a man discovered his sofa was on fire in apartment 509 of a thirty-storey residential block in North York, Toronto. He tried to put it out, failed, and ran leaving his apartment door wide open behind him. That single decision set off a chain of events that killed six people, all of them found above the twentieth floor in smoke-filled stairwells, in a building where the fire never mea...
• 
  #482 AFOA 2026 Conference Live - Developing the All-Hazard Leader with Peter Critchell and Craig Rayner 05.06.2026 58min

  In this episode of our AFOA 2026 Conference Live mini-series, you are going to hear a presentation from Peter Critchell and Craig Rayner exploring the development of the all-hazard leader within aviation fire and rescue. Drawing on experience from across the UK fire and rescue sector, the session examines how organisations can move beyond simple compliance to develop truly competent, confident and adaptable incident commanders capable of operating in complex, high-risk aviation environments. ...
• 
  #481 Rescue, Transform, Donate: Sustainable Luxury with Kresse Wesling of Elvis & Kresse 03.06.2026 1t 11min

  In this episode, I speak with Kresse Wesling CBE, co-founder of Elvis & Kresse, about how decommissioned fire hose once destined for landfill became the foundation of a sustainable luxury brand built on three pillars: rescue, transform and donate. Kresse shares the origin story behind discovering London Fire Brigade hose, the journey from handmade belts to globally recognised products, and why 50% of profits from the Fire-hose Collection support The Fire Fighters Charity. This is a conver...
• 
  #480 High Rise Masterclass with Brent Brooks Episode 2 01.06.2026 1t 11min

  In this special High Rise Masterclass miniseries, The Firefighters Podcast brings you live recordings direct from the International Tall Buildings Conference and specialist high rise firefighting masterclass held in London in May 2026. Across this series, internationally respected high rise firefighting instructor Brent Brooks shares decades of operational experience, command insight and research driven learning around modern tall building firefighting. These talks explore the realities of hi...
• 
  #479 The Evolution of Structural Firefighting PPE: Reigniting a New Era with Bill Lawson and Helmut Zepf from PBI 27.05.2026 1t 14min

  I sit down with Helmut Zepf, Managing Director of the PPE Division at PBI, and Bill Lawson, President of PBI, to explore what is really protecting firefighters inside their PPE. As The Firefighters Podcast begins its partnership with PBI ahead of INTERSCHUTZ 2026, this episode looks beyond the badge on the kit and into the science, history, and real-world performance behind high-performance protective fabrics. From PBI’s origins in high-temperature polymer science and NASA, through to flame r...
• 
  #478 Firefighter Jack Goodwin on Elite Performance, Mental Health & Finding Meaning Beyond Success 25.05.2026 1t 44min

  In this episode of The Firefighters Podcast, I sit down with Jack Goodwin for a powerful conversation exploring resilience, trauma, identity, and the psychology of high performance. A Great Britain international athlete with personal bests of 13:35 for 5,000 metres, 29:16 for 10,000 metres, and a 61:05 HYROX time, Jack shares lessons learned from years competing at an elite level and how those experiences shaped his understanding of mental health, discipline, suffering, and purpose. Together,...
• 
  #477 High Rise Masterclass with Brent Brooks Mini-series Episode 1 22.05.2026 45min

  In this special High Rise Masterclass miniseries, The Firefighters Podcast brings you live recordings direct from the International Tall Buildings Conference and specialist high rise firefighting masterclass held in London in May 2026. Across this series, internationally respected high rise firefighting instructor Brent Brooks shares decades of operational experience, command insight and research driven learning around modern tall building firefighting. These talks explore the realities of hi...