Mini-episode: What’s It Like to Be a Real Firefighter?

🚒🔥 We’re breaking down one of our most action-packed episodes into a thrilling two-part mini series! Join Emily and Luis as they dive into the world of firefighting—with a little help from a magical mirror and a very special guest, Australian firefighter and kids’ book author, Trent “Maxi” Maxwell!

In these bite-sized adventures, you’ll discover what it’s really like to be a firefighter—from rescuing pets to tackling slime emergencies! Plus, get ready for a fire drill game show like no other! 🧯🐶💥

Each mini episode is full of fast-paced fun, real-life hero stories, and important safety tips that will keep kids curious and inspired.

☀️ Parents, inside the Lingokids app, we have 3,000+ fun, interactive activities, games, songs, and videos to help kids learn academics and modern life skills in today’s world. It’s free to try.

A Lingokids Original podcast produced by Studio Ochenta

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to our growing up talking game show. Today, we're
joined from Australia by the one and only Trent Maxwell,
also known as Maxie.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Not you, Maxi, but you can't stick around.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Maxi is a professional firefighter. He was one of the
superstars on a famous TV show called Bondai Rescue and
he has educated over thirty thousand children all over Australia
on how to become superheroes and real life emergencies. Hi, Maxi,

(00:41):
Louise and I are excited to talk to you.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes we are. Oh, I see you're at a fire station.
Wait does that mean that if there's a fire you
might have to leave?

Speaker 3 (00:52):
If there's a full emergency, one of the gals will
come in and grab me.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Oh wow, Well hopefully everything turns out. Okay, let's get started.
Thank you for talking to us so early in the morning.
For you, does your day usually start really early?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
As a firefighter, we do twenty four hour shifts and
that means all day and all night we're at the
fire station. So we start early in the morning and
we go all the way through the day, into the
night into the next morning.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Oh wow, so firefighters are working all day long. Yep.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Think about it. An emergency can happen at any time.
Imagine if a fire starts at three am, somebody has
to be able to put it out in time.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Right, That makes sense? Oh, MAXI, I have a question
for you. I went with the school to see a
fire truck today and it has all the clock, spells
lights attached to it. It was so cool, and now
all my friends want to be firefighters. How old were
you when you decided to be a fireman.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
When I was two, I remember dreaming of becoming a firefighter,
and I was very lucky enough that I had an
uncle and a cousin that were involved in the fire service,
and they used to give me some of their old clothing.
So when I was at two, three, four or five,
I used to have some of their old firefighter clothes

(02:13):
and I used to pretend. I used to visualize and
play around being a firefighter.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
I play pretend too. Sometimes I'll pretend to be an astronaut,
or a chef, or a ninja, but my favorite one
is a firefighter. I'd run around with my dog MAXI
saving ants from imaginary fires.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
When I was quite young. I remember having the uniform
next to the bed. I remember having a garden hose
under my bed as well, and if I had a
bad dream, I was ready to respond and help if
someone in the community needed help.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Wow, you're a real hero. You can even save people
in your dreams. Yes, he can.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
And now, of course you save people in real life
all the time. How does it feel when you save someone?

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Most magical experience is probably saving someone's life where they've
been unconscious, not breathing, and we use the defibrillator and
we do CPR and that person was not good.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Oh no, but hold on, what's a a defibrillator? You know?

Speaker 1 (03:21):
And TV shows about doctors when someone brings in a
machine with these two paddles to start a person's hard
after it stops beating.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oh yeah, where one of them, you know, is clear exactly.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Well, that machine is called a defibrillator, and it can
save people's lives.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, and that person taking a breath and been alive.
It's definitely more magical moments, definitely, And we've been very
fortunate that people have made a full recovery and they're
living their best life. Yeah, that's pretty pretty magical. Knowing
that there's people around this earth right now that are

(03:58):
alive from the so we did as firefighters.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Oh that must be such a beautiful feeling.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Oh but Maxie, on our field trip today, a firefighter
told us, you guys don't just rescue people, You sometimes
rescue animals too.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yep, So I've got a quick story to share about
a cat rescue. I've rescued a few, but sometimes cats
get a bit adventurous, and there's been times where we've
had to rescue kittens between the two walls. So people
that live in the house don't know that there's kittens
in the wall, but they just hear this well well,

(04:34):
and they call the firefighters and then we come and
we try and locate where they are within the wall.
So I've done a couple of rescues like that where
they do get stuck and they're only a couple of
days old.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
These kittens, Oh poor little things. Well, I'm glad the
people who lived there heard the kittens, and glad you
were able to rescue them too.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Of course. Okay, it's official. Wearing an awesome uniform, driving
an awesome truck, people and cats firefighting is officially the
most exciting job ever.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Thanks for tagging along on this episode of Growing up
all about firefighters, the heroes that save our lives every day.
Always follow basic fire safety tips and visit your local
fire station if you can remember a little listener, dream big,
and always stay curious. Luis, are you ready for more adventure?

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Wait? There's more?

Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yep, there is loads more to explore on the world's
number one kids learning app, Lingo Kids. It has tons
of videos, games and podcasts just like this one, and
every single one is fun and educational. Download the Lingo
Kids app today for free.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
Beak of