The Firefighters Podcast

About The Firefighters Podcast

Bringing together voices from across the global fire and emergency services community to share experience, challenge thinking and help firefighters grow. Hosted by serving UK firefighter and instructor Pete Wakefield, this award-winning podcast explores operational practice, leadership, research and personal development through honest, wide-ranging conversations. Real experience. Useful lessons. A lasting resource for today’s firefighters and the generations that follow.

Publisher

Pete Wakefield

Category

education · education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Dec 2020

Latest episode

22 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

504 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2026

   #518 DEBRIEF: Six Firefighters Trapped | Mendocino Complex 2018

   Six firefighters. A rapidly advancing wildfire. And an escape route that suddenly disappeared. On 19 August 2018, firefighters working on California's Mendocino Complex were conducting a tactical firing operation designed to stop the spread of a major wildfire. But as conditions deteriorated, a sudden wind shift and explosive fire development cut off their planned escape routes. We explore: The background to the Mendocino Complex wildfire and the challenges facing responding crews.The tactica...

2. 

   19 Oct 2026

   #517 Are We Making Firefighters Safer or Less Capable? | Chris Gott & Justin Brunner

   Are We Training Firefighters Wrong? | Chris Gott & Justin Brunner Are we genuinely developing better firefighters, or are we simply getting better at ticking boxes, completing assessments and documenting competence? In this episode of The Firefighters Podcast, I sit down with Chris Gott and Justin Brunner for a fascinating conversation about the future of firefighter training, operational competence, leadership, artificial intelligence and how we can develop better decision-makers. Connec...

3. 

   15 Oct 2026

   #516 Culture on Fire: We Know the Problem - So Why Is Change So Hard

   Why does meaningful change remain so difficult when decades of research, inspections and cultural reviews have already identified so many of the problems? In this episode, Im joined by Janette Morris, former senior fire and rescue leader and HMICFRS inspector; Dave Baigent, former firefighter and long-standing researcher of firefighter culture; and Leanne Allen, operational firefighter and researcher with experience internationally. Together, they challenge assumptions around leadership, incl...

Who has been a guest on The Firefighters Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Phil Garrigan
• Steve McGuirk
• Frank Leeb
• Frank Boniello
• Sal Naseem

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

282,476

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

267 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 95 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

99

Social presence

94

YouTube

86

Engagement

93

Contact The Firefighters Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about The Firefighters Podcast