React Safety Training
Hi, we're Matt & Zoe

A firefighter,
a paramedic,
and a kitchen-table idea.

Matt and Zoe on their wedding day

Matt & Zoe

Gloucestershire-based Founded over a brew, 2025

A note from us

Why we started React.

We're a husband-and-wife team based in Gloucestershire, driven by the belief that the right training can save lives.

As a firefighter and a paramedic, we've spent years responding to emergencies where a little knowledge or confidence could have changed everything. Time and again, we've thought: if someone here had known what to do, the outcome could have been very different.

That's why we created React Safety Training.

We deliver practical, engaging, all-inclusive training led by current emergency responders and healthcare professionals, not tick-box courses or endless PowerPoint slides. Every course is experience-led, professionally accredited, and delivered to the highest industry standards.

Our mission is simple: to empower people with the skills and confidence to act when it matters most.. Real experience. Real training. Real confidence.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about us. We'd love to work with you. Get in contact.

Matt & Zoe

Matt Adams

Co-Founder & Lead Fire Safety Instructor

Matt after a challenge event
Matt in dress uniform
Matt on the hose at GFCC

In Matt's words

"People don't fail because they lack courage, they fail because they're unsure what to do. My role is to give them the skills and confidence to act when it matters most."

Matt is a serving firefighter with over 10 years of frontline experience, responding to fires, road traffic collisions, industrial incidents, confined space rescue, rope rescue, water rescue and hazardous material emergencies across the South West.

 He specialises in heavy rescue, including HGV and train incidents, and has strong experience in incident command and emergency response. He also holds the Rescue Trauma and Casualty Care (RTACC) qualification.

He is an Associate Trainer for Breathing Apparatus at the International Fire Service College and a qualified instructor in Tactical Firefighting and Road Traffic Collision rescue.

Matt has earned multiple accolades, including British Firefighter Challenge Champion, four-time Welsh Firefighter Challenge Champion, Best Breathing Apparatus Wearer, and member of the National Breathing Apparatus Best Firefighting Team, winning national title in 2024.

Throughout his career, Matt has seen how the right actions in the first few minutes can change outcomes. This led him to co-found React Safety Training, with a mission to give people the knowledge and confidence to act quickly and safely.

He brings real-world insight into every fire safety, fire warden, and extinguisher course, helping delegates understand what happens in an emergency and how to respond effectively.

Matt leads React’s fire safety training, fire risk assessments, and practical sessions, ensuring every course is engaging, realistic, and delivered to a high standard.

Credentials

  • Serving UK Firefighter
  • Lead Fire Safety Instructor
  • IFE accredited instructor
  • Qualsafe accredited instructor
  • Quality Assurer
  • Practical fire extinguisher & warden training
  • Fire risk assessment qualified
  • Firefighter Challenge Champion
  • National title holder

Zoe Adams

Co-Founder & Lead First Aid Instructor

Zoe with ATACC team by air ambulance
Zoe abseiling in SWAH kit
Zoe at gas-tight suit exercise

In Zoe's words

"Most people freeze because they're afraid of making a mistake. My goal is to give them the confidence to act, because in an emergency, those first few moments can make all the difference."

Zoe is an HCPC registered HART (Hazardous Area Response Team) Paramedic who has successfully completed the highly competitive selection process and intensive specialist training required to join one of the UK’s most advanced pre-hospital emergency response teams.

She specialises in delivering emergency medical care during major incidents, including Safe Working at Height (SWAH), confined space operations, water rescues, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), and High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) incidents. Her frontline career has seen her respond to a wide range of emergencies, from serious road traffic collisions and cardiac arrests to complex rescue operations and mass casualty events.

Zoe brings this real-world experience into every course she teaches. Drawing on years of frontline ambulance work and major incident response, she delivers engaging, practical training in first aid, CPR and AED use, paediatric first aid, and workplace emergency response, equipping people with the confidence to stay calm and act when it matters most.

Alongside her clinical career, Zoe has a genuine passion for teaching children and young adults. Holding a recognised teaching qualification, she has extensive experience supporting both children and adults with learning disabilities, adapting her approach to suit a wide range of learning styles and abilities. She firmly believes that lifesaving skills should be accessible to everyone, regardless of age, background, or additional needs.

This commitment to inclusivity is a core principle of React Safety Training. Every course is designed to be welcoming, engaging, and accessible, ensuring that every learner has the confidence and opportunity to succeed.

As React Safety Training’s lead first aid instructor, Zoe designs and delivers the company’s Qualsafe accredited courses, ensuring each programme is current, evidence-based, practical, and grounded in the realities of real-life emergencies rather than classroom theory.

Credentials

  • HCPC-registered Paramedic
  • HART (Hazardous Area Response Team)
  • Qualsafe approved instructor
  • Paediatric Aid trainer
  • BSc and BA Hons accredited
  • ATACC qualified