Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, firefighter

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2019

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is the Chief Fire Officer for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. She is one of the most senior women in the Fire and Rescue Service in the UK. After spending some time living on the streets as a teenager, her work as a firefighter began at the age of 18, after she had applied to 31 different fire services. During her career, her interest in psychology and fascination with how people make choices in stressful situations led to her studying for a degree, followed by a PhD. Her research into risk, decision-making under extreme pressure and human error has won awards and she has shared her findings with fire services in other countries. She is also an ambassador for The Big Issue magazine, in the wake of her own experiences of homelessness. DISC ONE: Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire DISC TWO: J Balvin and Willy William - Mi Gente DISC THREE: The Clash - Bankrobber DISC FOUR: IDLES - Samaritans DISC FIVE: Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK DISC SIX: Oasis - Don’t Look Back in Anger DISC SEVEN: Stereophonics - Local Boy in the Photograph DISC EIGHT: Toots and the Maytals - 54-46 Was My Number BOOK CHOICE: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway LUXURY ITEM: A photo album CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bankrobber by The Clash Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.7	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Desert Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.4	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take
0:13.2	with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.4	This is an extended version of the original Radio 4 broadcast and for right reasons the
0:21.6	music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:24.5	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:30.0	Music Music
0:46.4	My cast away this week is Dr Sabrina Cohen Hatton, Chief Fire Officer for West Sussex Fire
0:51.9	and Rescue Service and one of the most senior firefighters in the country.
0:56.6	Dr Cohen doesn't fit the stereotypical image of her firefighter, just 5% of them are female.
1:01.9	She's even more unusual in the role she occupies.
1:04.6	Apparently there are more chief fire officers called Chris than there are women in the job.
1:09.3	But what really sets her apart is her story.
1:12.1	She was a homeless teenager when, tired of being invisible, she set her heart on a career
1:16.9	in the fire service.
1:18.8	After applying to 31 different stations, she was accepted into the South Wales Fire and Rescue
1:23.6	Service at the age of 18.
1:26.0	It was while working there that she became fascinated by the hidden processes underpinning
1:30.0	the high pressure decisions she and her colleagues faced every day.
1:34.1	When she discovered how little research had been done into the experiences of firefighters,
1:38.9	she decided to pursue a PhD in psychology while continuing to work in the service.
	...

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