Firefighter Podcast

This short debrief episode examines the Bethnal Green Road fire of 20 July 2004, a commercial premises fire in East London that resulted in the deaths of two London firefighters, Billy Faust and Adam Meere. Crews attended what initially presented as a working shop fire and committed under Breathing Apparatus into a basement environment characterised by heavy textile fuel loading, restricted access, and limited ventilation.
This episode focuses on exploring how fire behaviour can change when ventilation-limited conditions are involved. Particular attention is given to tactical ventilation, positive pressure ventilation, and positive pressure attack, and how airflow interacts with ventilation profiles in modern incidents. 
Bethnal Green Road remains a critical case study for all firefighters - a FREE downloadable training document accompanies this episode for crews to aid and facilitate training sessions - DOWNLOAD IT HERE
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 our partners supporting this episode.
GORE-TEX Professional Clothing
FIRST TACTICAL- tactical gear for elite operators
MSA The Safety Company
JAFCO
IDEX
FIRE & EVACUATION SERVICE LTD 
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***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***
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I sit down with Chris Case, a firefighter who spent 25 years in Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service before making the leap to Canada and becoming Fire Chief of Chatham-Kent in Ontario.
This is not a career-timeline conversation. It is a deep exploration of leadership, identity, and the personal cost of doing complex work in complex systems.
We talk about moving beyond the cookie-cutter career, the curse of competence, and what happens when professionalism becomes a golden cage. Chris shares hard-won lessons from counter-terrorism, multi-agency command, senior leadership, and governance, but also from parenting, failure, anxiety, and learning when to stop optimising everything.
We explore why managers enforce rules but leaders enforce values, why undefined expectations become premeditated resentments, and why senior officers eventually trade tools for words. We talk about ambition, burnout, anger as fuel, and the danger of confusing progress with peace.
This episode is for firefighters at every rank who are trying to do meaningful work without betraying themselves in the process.
Connect with Chris Case HERE
Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HERE
Podcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HERE
 our partners supporting this episode.
GORE-TEX Professional Clothing
FIRST TACTICAL- tactical gear for elite operators
MSA The Safety Company
JAFCO
IDEX
FIRE & EVACUATION SERVICE LTD 
Send us a text
Support the show
***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***
Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew

On this episode of we take a slow, deliberate look at the Old Albert Mill incident in Whitworth, Lancashire, from 15 May 2009. This is a structured incident debrief built directly from the original accident investigation report, with large sections read verbatim to preserve timings, context, and operational reality. The focus is not on blame or judgement, but on understanding how breathing apparatus operations, withdrawal under pressure, low visibility movement, and training culture intersected during a real incident that resulted in a firefighter injury.
This episode is designed as a learning tool. Alongside the audio debrief, an incident debrief training document has been created for crews to use on station. 
It follows a clear structure, sets out critical information from the incident, and poses decision points and discussion prompts to help firefighters and officers reflect on what they would do if faced with a similar incident tonight. 
You can find the downloadable debrief document via the link below and use it to support watch-based discussions, training sessions, and professional development.
LINK FOR TRAINING DOCUMENT
Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HERE
Podcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HERE
 our partners supporting this episode.
GORE-TEX Professional Clothing
FIRST TACTICAL- tactical gear for elite operators
MSA The Safety Company
JAFCO
IDEX
FIRE & EVACUATION SERVICE LTD 
Send us a text
Support the show
***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***
Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew

In this episode, I’m joined by Chris Kirby, Chief Fire Officer of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and Chair of FireSport UK, to talk about why bringing sport back matters right now. We focus on the Festival of Fire Sport and how FireSport UK is using sport to reconnect firefighters through teamwork, competition, and shared experience, not just fitness for fitness’ sake.
We explore how sport builds trust, resilience, and identity across the fire service, why earning your place alongside your peers matters, and how initiatives like the Festival of Fire Sport and the British Firefighter Challenge bring people together across roles, ranks, and services. This is about participation, community, and momentum. Bringing sport back is about strengthening the fire service from the inside out.
CLICK HERE - FESTIVAL OF FIRE SPORT
Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HERE
Podcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HERE
 our partners supporting this episode.
GORE-TEX Professional Clothing
FIRST TACTICAL- tactical gear for elite operators
MSA The Safety Company
JAFCO
IDEX
FIRE & EVACUATION SERVICE LTD 
Send us a text
Support the show
***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***
Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew

This episode is a grounded debrief from being boots on the ground at Intersec Dubai, not a second hand summary or a glossy highlight reel. Intersec matters because it shows where global investment, policy attention, and operational thinking are actually heading long before those ideas trickle into day to day firefighting. From advanced PPE and industrial scale suppression systems to drones designed to integrate directly into command structures, the show sits at the intersection of technology, risk, and real world application. Walking the floor, speaking directly with manufacturers, sector leaders, and practitioners from around the world, the focus was simple. What is coming next, what problem is it trying to solve, and does it genuinely improve firefighter safety and effectiveness rather than just looking impressive on a stand.
Intersec is not just about kit. It is about perspective. Hosted at the Dubai World Trade Centre, in a city built on scale and intent, the event forces you to look at the fire service through a wider international lens. Alongside innovation, there were conversations about health, cancer prevention, leadership, policy, and how different nations are quietly evolving their approach to risk. This episode reflects on what stood out, what challenged assumptions, and what is worth bringing back into honest conversations at home. It will never fully capture the scale or energy of being there, but it offers a clear snapshot of what was seen, what mattered, and why staying curious and present in these spaces is essential if we want the fire service to move forward with intent rather than drift on habit.
See discussed here :
HAIX
DE-WIPE
DRONES
NAFFCO
FF TURBINE MINIMAX
WILLIAM WOOD WATCHES
INTERSEC DUBAI
Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HERE
Podcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HERE
 our partners supporting this episode.
GORE-TEX Professional Clothing
FIRST TACTICAL- tactical gear for elite operators
MSA The Safety Company
JAFCO
IDEX
FIRE & EVACUATION SERVICE LTD 

Send us a text
Support the show
***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***
Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew