#401 ESS LIVE: Phil Garrigan & Fin Monahan on Leadership& Culture from the RAF to the Fireground

Over the next week we’ll be rolling out a special mini-series recorded live at the Emergency Services Show a collaboration with Catherine and the ESS team. The show is one of Europe’s leading gathering for the blue light community: over 16,000+ professionals from fire, police, ambulance, search & rescue and support sectors. ESS showcases 500+ leading exhibitors, thousands of response innovations, live demonstrations, immersive training zones, and CPD-accredited content. Emergency Services Show 2025 If you want to dive deeper into all things ESS — who’s exhibiting, the content programme, or how to get involved — head over to emergencyuk.com. Today’s episode features two remarkable leaders. First is Phil Garrigan OBE, Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council. After 35 years at Merseyside Fire & Rescue, Phil transitions into a national role where he’ll advise government, steer strategic direction, and work with bodies like HMICFRS. Joining Phil is Air Vice-Marshal Dr. Fin Monahan OBE, DFC, PhD — Chief Fire Officer of South Wales. Fin brings a decorated RAF career (Harrier pilot, command roles, aerospace strategy) plus deep thinking on leadership, culture, and resilience. Over our conversation we explore leadership in turbulent times, evolving public expectation, how we support our people — and what a modern, future-fit fire service looks like. This is the first of our ESS special episodes. Let’s dive in Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HEREJoin me on the United for 9/11: Memorial Stair Climb – Atlanta 2026 HEREPodcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HEREPODCAST GIFT - FREE subscription to essential Firefighting publications HERE A big thanks to our partners for supporting this episode.GORE-TEX Professional ClothingMSA The Safety CompanyIDEXFIRE & EVACUATION SERVICE LTD HAIX Footwear - Get offical podcast discount on HAIX HEREXendurance - to hunt performance & endurance 20% off HERE with code ffp20Lyfe Linez -  Get Functional Hydration FUEL for FIREFIGHTERS, Clean no sugar  for daily hydration. 80% of people live dehydratedSend us Fan MailSupport 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