Phil Martin always knew he wanted to be a firefighter. While his school friends explored other paths, he was inspired by his dad, who served in Somerset. He not only followed in his footsteps, but went on to become Chief Fire Officer of the Isles of Scilly FRS.
And his eldest son, Freddie, has also since joined the service.
Phil has long supported us, but says it wasn’t until he received help himself that he understood just how life-changing it can be. “My father completed his whole career in Somerset. We had a two-year crossover when I joined. After moving to Cornwall on promotion, Freddie joined the service and we had about an 18 month crossover,” says Phil.
“It’s 63 years continuous service – 66 years in total – between the three of us. I always wanted to be a firefighter. I never had an interest in doing anything else. I was incredibly lucky, it’s a tough career to get into, but on reflection, my interest and work with the charity helped me on my way.
“My Dad was a Station Rep, and I would spend as much time as I could at the fire station. Any excuse!”
In 2003, Phil’s career almost ended after a serious knee fracture. He says our support helped him return to the job he loves.
“While I was working in Somerset, I suffered quite a complicated knee fracture where I sheered off a small part of my knee joint,” he says. “It’s incredibly painful sometimes, even now, but I’m 58 and I was told at the time that I would need a knee replacement by the time I was 40. So, I’ve done OK so far.
“At the time, I was told that my career in the fire service was over, I was devastated, worried for my family and faced a very uncertain future. If it had not been for the charity and the rehabilitation and speed at which that accelerated my recovery, I genuinely believe my career would have ended over twenty years ago.”
“I was invited up to Jubilee House a couple of times and, for me, two things really stood out, the specific and dedicated care that you receive, and the whole peer support part of it. I hadn’t realised the impact on my mental health. But talking to other people who’ve been through similar circumstances really helped. In terms of the physical recovery, for me a large part of the success of my treatment was about being given the confidence to push your recovery without the fear of worsening the injury.”
He says the visits sped up his recovery more than he ever thought possible:
“On my final visit to Jubilee House, the incredible team set up a number of occupational tests for me to do, once completed, I was given a written narrative of these tests and my performance in them, this provided valuable evidence for the Occupational Health Doctor to sign me back fit for operational duties.
“After Jubilee House, my consultant told me that in his view, the treatment I had received had accelerated my recovery by at least eight months.”
Phil has also seen the impact our support has had on others.
“I have a friend and former colleague whose life was almost certainly saved by going to Harcombe House as part of the programme there,” he says. “He was very unwell in terms of his mental health and the team at Harcombe helped him find a way to recovery. Whilst his career in the Service ended prematurely, he is now very successful in another role and doing really well.”
Now, Phil actively supports colleagues across the Isles of Scilly to fundraise in creative ways: “My father was a Station Rep in the 80s, as was I,” he explains. “Through the 90s I was heavily involved in the charity’s presence at the National Fire Exhibition.”
Phil was also involved in securing the charity’s association and adoption of Blaze Bear. More recently, he began running ‘Musingo’, a combined music, bingo and party event. Having now run over 45 events, this has raised over £25,000 for 38 separate charities and causes.
“Annually, I do at least one Musingo for Fire Fighters Charity,” he adds. “I’ve also been known to assist with Santa at my local on-call station in Perranporth.”
Phil says he would not hesitate to reach out to Fire Fighters Charity again if he needed to, and encourages others to do the same.
“It is now so easy now to make contact with the charity. Gone are the days where you needed to find a local representative to make calls on your behalf, it can be as simple as one phone call.”
“We are incredibly privileged… there are very few people fortunate enough have access to the amazing range of services offered by Fire Fighters Charity” he says.
Phil admits that before his own experience of using the charity’s services, he viewed it as being there for colleagues, not for him.
“I’d encourage anyone who may benefit from the services to consider it, remember, it is there for you, not just for others,” he adds.
“It is too easy to ignore your own wellbeing because you are rightly concerned about the people you work with, but it’s so important to look after your own health, whatever your role. I feel so lucky to know that if needed I can reach out again to Fire Fighters Charity, they would be there for me.”
If you feel you’d benefit from our health and wellbeing support, you can call our Support Line on 0800 389 8820, make an enquiry online or click below: