Mike Goldman’s tribute to the firefighters who saved his family, launching a 12-part podcast with the Queensland Fire Department
After a 4am house fire destroyed his home, one of Queensland’s most loved media personalities has made a 12-part podcast celebrating Queensland firefighters, and is urging families to check their smoke alarms before a crucial deadline.
At 4am one morning last August, a smoke alarm woke Mike Goldman and his family, their Bulimba house was on fire. His 18-month-old son, Jagger, was asleep in bed with Mike and his wife Bianca, which is lucky as the fire burnt straight through his cot, the thing of nightmares for anyone. It was the kind of disaster Mike had never imagined would happen to his family. Now he wants every Queenslander to understand that it absolutely could, happen to theirs.
This week, the familiar commentary voice of Big Brother has launched Firefighters, a 12-part audio and video podcast made in partnership with the Queensland Fire Department (QFD). It is a tribute to the crews who run towards danger, beginning with the firefighters from Cannon Hill Fire and Rescue Station who came to his family’s aid.
“At four o’clock in the morning, our smoke alarm went off and within minutes our world was on fire. If that alarm hadn’t worked, and the crew from Cannon Hill hadn’t reached us so quickly, I might not be here telling this story,” Mike said. “Station Officer Mark Dutton and the team arrived within minutes. They got our dog Mister Big out, protected the neighbouring properties and helped us through the worst night of our lives. I stood on that street in my in Lilo & Stitch pyjamas holding my son, with my wife beside me, watching these people run towards the thing the rest of us run from. I was in awe. Without that smoke alarm, we don’t wake up. Without those firefighters, I don’t know what happens next.”
The fire changed the way Mike sees the people who answer an emergency call. Now, through 12 weekly podcast conversations, Firefighters will introduce audiences to the men and women behind the uniforms and the work they do for Queensland communities.
“So I did what I do: I grabbed a microphone. Firefighters is my chance to thank the people who helped my family, and to introduce Queenslanders to 12 remarkable people who protect our communities every day. Their stories are funny, confronting and inspiring. Some could even save a life. This podcast is my thank you,” Mike said. “It’s a chance to hear their stories, understand what they face and celebrate them properly. And if it makes one family check their smoke alarms tonight, that matters just as much.”
The 12 voices of Firefighters
- Mark Dutton: The Cannon Hill firefighter who responded to Mike’s house fire, helped save Mister Big and protected neighbouring homes.
- Andrew Vaughan: An open conversation about mental health and wellbeing in the fire service.
- Mark Halverson: After 40 years in the service, he is determined to prevent fire deaths through working smoke alarms.
- Shakira Westdorp: Four-time world stand-up paddleboard champion, lifeguard, firefighter and Area Commander, with stories stretching from the Gold Coast to Roma and floodwater rescues.
- Christopher Daniel: Inside the Queensland Live Fire and Rescue Training Facility, where crews prepare for the emergencies they hope never come.
- Mick Everingham: How drones are changing firefighting, flood rescue and disaster response.
- William Hovell: Road crash rescues and the safety programs he delivers to children and young people.
- Savanah Aylward: An auxiliary firefighter opening doors and challenging assumptions about who belongs in the service.
- Mark Crowe: International disaster deployments, 20 tonnes of equipment and just ten hours to mobilise.
- Alex Pearl: The practical fire safety steps Queensland families need to take before the 2027 smoke alarm deadline.
- Kristee Staples: Why she left a decade in policing to become a firefighter.
- Inspector Daren Mallouk: Queensland’s fire investigation work, from the ashes of a fire to evidence that can be used in court.
WHY NOW? The launch comes exactly three months before the 1 January 2027 deadline for all remaining Queensland homes to have compliant, interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms. When one interconnected alarm detects smoke, every alarm in the home sounds, giving people more warning to escape. Homes being sold or leased are already subject to the requirements.
QFD Commissioner Steve Smith said the early warning was especially important when a fire broke out while a family was asleep. “Smoke alarms save lives and interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms are the safest option available,” Commissioner Smith said. “Interconnected smoke alarms mean when one alarm activates, every alarm throughout the house sounds. That early warning can make all the difference.”
Queensland firefighters responded to more than 1,700 house fires across the state last financial year. Mike never expected his home to be among them.
“Get behind Firefighters. Listen to these extraordinary people, and check your smoke alarms. It might just save your life.”
Firefighters launches on 1 October 2026, with 12 weekly episodes of approximately 20 minutes available in audio and video on YouTube.
