When most people think of the Fire Service they think about our 999 call operators and the firefighters on the front line but this is only part of the incredible team that make up the work that Fire services across the UK do to keep us all safe.

On this episode we welcome Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service personnel Sophie Smith and Mike Teago as we explore the role Community educators play as the sometimes Hidden Heros of the fire service keeping our communities safer through their work in education and prevention.

We hope you enjoy listening and take away some great little nuggets of practical advice to keep you safer in your homes and in your day to day lives.  

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Home schooling went global ever since schools announced closures during the 2020 COVID pandemic & parents have had the difficult task of providing their children with education through lockdown.

But even though all of our children have not been attending school there has been an army of passionate committed teachers adapting, pivoting & providing support in some truly innovative ways.

For this episode of The Firefighters Podcast Lisa joins us to discuss how this has affected things in the education sector and how teachers have teamed up with parents, guardians and carers to continue to provide our children with the tools to continue learning and developing.

What have we learnt from home schooling ? 

Well take your seats everyone.........
fingers on lips & pay attention please.......
class has begun.

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Mathew Jaggers incredible story of addiction and recovery.

Matt has fought many things in life from a tough upbringing to social pressures to local bullies and then he took this fight into the thai boxing ring where he found success and into business as a small business owner.

But this was all just a warm up for THE GREATEST FIGHT OF HIS LIFE. 
The sprial was set i motion as he began to party every weekend and led into....
-Alcohol abuse
-Peer pressure
-The doorway into cocaine use
-Losing self worth
-Losing self care
-Becoming a functioning addict
-A £1,000 a week addiction
-Partial recovery
-Relapse
and then off the DEEP end into crack cocaine and two suicide attempts

Matt has now been recovered for 10 years and has come forward to share his story on TheFirefightersPodcast

We feel privilaged to welcome Matt to the show and celebrate his the victory he has fought for and that he fights every day over his greatest ever opponent HIMSELF.

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Dan is a massively inspritational guy and super dangerous on the mats.

Dan competed in judo at international level but became homesick after four years living and training in Kent, England. He moved back to Liverpool where he found he needed an outlet for his competitive nature. This led to him taking up Para athletics.

In 2017, he was runner-up for both Disabled Sportsman of the Year and Senior Volunteer of the Year at Charnwood Sports Awards.

His partner Libby Clegg represented Great Britain in athletics at the Paralympic Games in 2008, 2012 and 2016, winning a total of two gold and two silver medals. His older brother Marc and his father Terry have both represented Great Britain in judo at the Paralympic Games. Marc competed at the 2012 Games in London, while Terry participated at the 1988, 1996 and 2000 editions of the Games.

In 2018, he took part in the television programme Ninja Warrior UK, he was the first contestant with a visual impairment to compete in the show. "Ninja Warrior was a hundred times scarier than competing in London 2012. In London 2012 I knew what I was there to do, I knew what I was going into, I had practised loads. The crowd at Ninja Warrior was amazing though, it was just like the Paralympics. It made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck."

His vision is affected by cone-rod dystrophy, a visual impairment that runs in his family. He worked as a personal trainer and gym instructor at Loughborough Leisure Centre in England. He has studied a degree in personal training and a diploma in sports massage. He is the founder of Ability Training alongside partner Libby Clegg, which offers disability specific awareness courses for sports and fitness professionals.

we are incredibly humbled to welcome dan to the show

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This episode we welcome Ed Rogers to the show

16 years deep into his fire service career Ed has worked in some incredible teams and lead the change of culture in the environments he has been placed in for the better.

Ed shares some of his thoughts that lead his actions when growing a culture of Engagement & inclusive Community building in his personal and professional life.

He also shares his experience with sports and how he has utilized and championed the importance of Mental resilience and adopting this approach in many aspects of life avoiding the temptation to adopt that victims mentality.

Our episode did get cut short so we look forward to having Ed back on the show again soon  

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The Firefighters Podcast is super stoked to welcome Nicola to the show to share her story.

From a passionate start to her working life with ambitions to travel the world with our armed forces Nicola then landed in the fire service and has never looked back.

Nicola has also had some great success in her sporting adventures playing at a high level of football and shares her thoughts on team work, fitness and personal accountability.

Nicola also shares her experiences supporting other woman in the fire service and also some of the work she has done supporting LGBTQ community as both a strong & visible advocate for it and someone who has personally benefited from the support of this fantastic community of people. Nicolas fund raising work and awareness campaigns have sent a powerful message into the world about the metaphorical weight people carry who have not yet opened up about their sexuality through fear of judgment or acceptance. 

We discuss Nicola's journey as she was coming out as gay to her close friends and family. We also discuss how society views, acknowledges, judges or celebrates gay people and her own experiences with this.

Nicola is a powerhouse of optimism, determination and drive and we here at The Firefighter's Podcast feel reassured and optimistic about the future of our fire service's as Nicola uses all of her passion and resourcefulness to guide new recruits in her current role as an instructor within the UK fire service.     

you can find out more by visiting their website HERE

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In this episode we discuss how John & the Team at the British firefighter challenge came up with the idea for this UK wide completion the attracts firefighters from all over the world to come and test their fitness and be crowned the fittest firefighter.

John also talks to us about his own fitness journey and shares tips on how others can progress their own physical fitness no matter their resources.

you can find out more by visiting their website HERE

A big thanks to our partners for supporting this episode.
William Wood Watches
HAIX Footwear

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In this episode we welcome Firefighter, Athlete, Trainer, Father & ex-military BEAST John MacDonald to the show.

John shares his philosophies on always hunting down new challenges and how he has demonstrated this is his life.

From his many competitive ventures and victories in fitness he shares training and fat loss tips & how he has balanced this with other priorities in his life including his family.

We discuss personal discipline and the role this plays in each of our lives. We explore peoples different learning styles and John shares experiences and methods that have worked for him in his role of Breathing Apparatus Instructor. 

This first episode with John has so many great moments and we look forward to having him back on the show in the future.

you can find out more by visiting their website HERE

A big thanks to our partners for supporting this episode.
William Wood Watches
HAIX Footwear

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The Firefighters Podcast is one of the most unique, innovative, and inspirational podcast productions globally that enables heroes within our emergency services & local communities to inspire others with their stories of how they have overcome tremendous challenges and adversity and the approaches and mindsets that enabled them to do so. 

The podcast identifies heroes amongst us, acknowledging how they have tested their internal fortitude and resilience through open and frank dialogue. We want the podcast to appeal to and inspire the hero that resides in us all within an environment of self-reflection; relating the story to their own journey or future. 

The emergency services sector acts with an undeniable magnetic pull for all those with shared common values and who stand for moral goodness and in my career as a professional firefighter in the UKFRS, I have benefitted greatly from the guidance and lessons in life taken from the numerous inspirational people and their stories. 

I started the firefighter’s podcast in 2020 as a natural extension of my professional and emotional commitment to the FRS.

I want to encourage curiosity and bold action in our emergency services. To help people Grow an appetite for big hairy audacious goals and spread optimism, inspiration, and a continued admiration and respect of those individuals who have chosen the path of a front line emergency responder.

The work of the podcast should stimulate a culture of learning where status and power are relative to contributions. Each conversation and episode exists in an environment that stimulates creativity and innovation built on trust and mutual professional respect.

Our mission is to deliver a meaningful series of podcasts presented by myself and operational UK firefighter Pete Wakefield. 

This podcast pulls back the curtain and showcases inspiring guests (past and present) who live and work among us every day either hidden in plain sight, as part of the firefighting family, or from other critical emergency services in both the UK and across the world. 

 The Firefighters Podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Deezer, or wherever you listen to podcasts 

 I believe that we all have a shared desire to cheer and show our admiration for the people of the world who choose the hero’s path and this is the purpose of the podcast. 

"The emergency services have a voice and that voice is The Firefighters Podcast"

Thank you for listening & please join us in celebrating the heroes of our emergency services & our wider communities. 

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