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.
Piotr Gudan, an on-call firefighter with Scottish FRS, has received both physical and mental health support from us and says it’s a reassurance to have us there in the future, given the huge demands of his role. Scottish on-call firefighter, Hugh MacCormick, has received our support following back issues. Here he shares his story, both of our support and of the pressures he and others face working on-call. 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.
Piotr: “Not many people realise the toll of on-call firefighting – it’s tough but rewarding”
Hugh: “I was primarily receiving physio, but the mental wellbeing workshops were great”
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”
