Find out how Fire Fighters Charity has supported service users across the UK and how you can share your story with the fire community. Click categories or regions below to filter the list of stories.
Firefighter Robert Cowie has received digital and face-to-face support from us following a Crohn’s disease diagnosis. Thanks to your donations, he’s now been able to return to work. Tommy Keay, a Group Commander with Scottish FRS, has been fundraising for us for years alongside his daughter – never expecting to need our support. However, when the time came, he said it proved vital. Scottish Station Commander, Bobby Lennox, joined one of our Hope Programmes with the intention of learning some new coping strategies to pass on to colleagues – but he says it helped his own mental wellbeing too. Tina, whose husband was in Scottish FRS for 30 years before his retirement, reveals how her son Greg has been helped by the charity following a brain tumour and subsequent stroke. John McCulloch has struggled with his mental health and traumatic memories ever since having a stroke, but he says he and his partner – who’s been his carer – have been supported by the charity throughout.
Robert: “I’ve always donated but you don’t realise how much you may depend on it one day”
Tommy: “This support got me back to work and doing things with my daughter again”
Bobby: “It’s about removing that stigma and going from being reactive to proactive”
Tina: “We felt like we’d got stuck… it was good to be able to reach out for support”
John: “I thought I’d tucked it to the back of my mind, but it was all coming back”
