A woman in a denim jacket smiles and stands in front of two colorful abstract artworks—one with wavy purple patterns and one with red, blue, and white zigzags—displayed on a white wall. She holds a striped bag.

Taelor-Mae’s story

Taelor-Mae McNally visited Marine Court with her firefighter dad when she was just 13. A decade later, she’s spreading the word about our care and support in a very special way.

Taelor-Mae: “I was blown away by what’s available, and it’s there for other family members just like me”

Taelor-Mae described her dad, Paul as having been an inspiration throughout her life. He balanced a career in the fire service with helping to care for her through years of health challenges.  

Today, he continues to serve on-call with Leicestershire FRS – and continues to inspire her. 

The pair visited Marine Court, our centre in West Sussex, when Taelor-Mae was 13, after she underwent spinal surgery. 

Now 23, Taelor-Mae is a fashion design graduate whose final collection, Who Saves the Savers?, draws on her dad’s experiences in the fire service. Through the project, she aims to shine a light on men’s mental health, celebrate the work of firefighters and raise awareness of the care and support available through Fire Fighters Charity. 

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“I was 13 when I stayed at the centre,” says Taelor-Mae. “I had had scoliosis surgery, as well as another procedure when I was younger. 

“I had a lot of time off school and lots of rehabilitation in terms of moving and walking. It was during one of those recovery periods that Dad reached out to you. 

“I was incredibly poorly at the time and we stayed for four or five days, with access to the pool and just space to completely relax. My dad wanted to take me away from being at home and to recover in a tranquil environment. It was massively helpful, and was really nice for us to spend some quality time together too. 

“I’d love to raise awareness of what’s available – I was blown away by it myself, and it’s there for other family members just like me.” 

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Paul has fond memories of the stay too, and the impact it had:  

“I didn’t know what to expect to be honest,” he says. “They couldn’t do any rehab, because she was so young at the time, but the break itself and having access to the pool was amazing. It was just so friendly – everyone was so nice, it really was wonderful. 

“She desperately needed it at the time too.” 

Since then, Paul has continued to champion our support and has seen several colleagues benefit from it, including some who have received what he describes as “invaluable mental health support”. 

Encouraging open conversations around mental health is something both father and daughter are really passionate about – so much so, it inspired Taelor-Mae’s graduate project. 

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“I have grown up my whole life with my dad in the fire service and met a lot of his colleagues, and I’ve noticed a massive shift in people feeling more comfortable to open up to each other,” she says. 

“Knowing there’s mental wellbeing support available through Fire Fighters Charity, for all of them, is amazing. 

“I wanted to use my collection as a tribute to my dad and everything he’s been through, while shining a light on the incredible work people in the fire service do, which often goes unrecognised.” 

The menswear collection features jackets made from decommissioned fire hose. Taelor-Mae also used the offcuts to create laser-cut QR codes linking people to mental health charities, support lines and information about Fire Fighters Charity. 

“It’s centred around admiration and appreciation for the amazing people that put their lives at risk every day to save others,” Taelor-Mae explains. 

“I also created prints from my dad’s fire service medals and the linings from his actual fire jacket. I was lucky enough to be selected to showcase my collection on two runway shows at graduate fashion week in London, and had my prints displayed there also, highlighting the cause behind the collection.” 

For Paul, raising awareness and funds for Fire Fighters Charity has been a constant throughout his fire service career, which included 25 years as a wholetime firefighter before moving to his on-call role. 

“We’ve done loads of car washes over the years,” he says. “We also did an 80-mile walk in 24 hours around all the stations in Leicestershire. Then we have a Rudolph Fund at the station. We do a variety of mobile and static routes in December, and the money goes to local children’s charities and Fire Fighters Charity each time. 

“Just knowing where those funds go make such a difference. Knowing the charity is there to fall back on makes such a difference to all of us.” 

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:

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