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 firefighting, the challenges of commanding a rapidly developing heritage building fire, and the uncomfortable gap between knowing a risk exists and actually implementing the solution before the next incident happens.

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“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 City of Boca Raton as a firefighter in 2007 and has never looked back. Now a fire officer with over a decade in the seat, multiple state certifications in technical rescue and hazardous materials mitigation, and the author of The Modern Fire Officer, Jared brings a grounded, practical, and deeply human perspective on what it means to communicate, motivate, and lead.

connect with Jared HERE

BUY HIS BOOKS HERE

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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 deep into the realities of high rise search, flow path, evacuation decisions and survivability. Using powerful lessons from the 200 Wellesley Street fire in Toronto, Brent explains how one open door, one broken window or one occupant action can completely change conditions for firefighters and residents. This episode explores area of refuge, shelter in place, people with disabilities, stairwells, lift lobbies, corridors, positive pressure, stack effect, hose line movement and the difficult truth that no fire department has the resources to do everything at once. It is a practical, honest and challenging conversation about reading the building, respecting the science and making better decisions under pressure.

Additional Presentation Material from Brent Brooks HERE

International Tall Buildings Conference HERE

Brent Brooks LinkedIn HERE

Brent Brooks Website HERE

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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, morale unit, communications hub and practical support system for communities and first responders facing hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and life changing disasters. This conversation is about coffee, but more importantly it is about dignity, service, purpose, community and the kind of firefighters we should all be trying to become.

Find Randy HERE

Find Fire Department Coffee HERE

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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, retired firefighters and their families who are affected by Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition. It affects movement, balance, sleep, mood, confidence, family life, work, identity and so much more. It has no cure, and for many people the early signs are not always obvious. Stiffness, fatigue, frozen shoulder, sleep issues, gut problems or changes in movement can appear long before the symptoms people typically associate with Parkinson’s.

Useful links

Parkinson’s UK
https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/

Movers and Shakers
https://www.moversandshakerspodcast.com/

Spotlight YOPD
https://spotlightyopd.org/

Cure Parkinson’s
https://cureparkinsons.org.uk/

The Michael J Fox Foundation
https://www.michaeljfox.org/

The Neurological Alliance
https://www.neural.org.uk/

Guest contact - David Little
davidlittle2412@gmail.com

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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 connect with firefighters, challenge thinking, bring humour, and open up conversations that people clearly want to be part of.

In a space where social media can sometimes become noise, Jag has cut through by being authentic, relatable, and properly connected to the people he is speaking to. He has built a huge following by being himself, and that is no small thing.

Today we are going to get behind the content, behind the growth, and behind the person, to understand what drives him, what he has learned, and where he sees this whole firefighter social media space going next.

Find Jag on socials HERE

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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

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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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