Find out how The Fire Fighters Charity has supported beneficiaries 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.
Having left his role as an Oxfordshire firefighter nearly 30 years ago, Mark Fussell didn't think he deserved help from The Fire Fighters Charity after a catastrophic car crash in October 2017. But he was quickly proven wrong. For former Royal Berkshire firefighter and double amputee Richard Baldwin, whatever life has thrown at him, his wife Sue has been at his side. We sit down with the pair to hear how the Charity has supported both their physical and mental needs, and how it all culminated in a Royal visit... If there's anyone who understands the importance of maintaining social connections when retiring from the fire service, it's Ken Seager. The former Chair of the Charity now volunteers to help set up and run one of our Living Well Groups, a networking group for retired fire service personnel. Former London Fire Brigade firefighter Ernie Marshall sought physical support from Harcombe House for a shoulder injury he sustained on a skiing holiday, after being told he had advanced prostate cancer. Now he says he just wants to improve his fitness for whatever time he has left. When doctors couldn't work out what was causing his pain, Peter Allen turned to The Fire Fighters Charity. A sneaking suspicion from one of our physios led to him having life-changing surgery, and learning to adjust to the future he is now faced with.
Mark: “It was a totally ordinary day until it wasn’t.”
Richard: “The Charity has saved my life, just as much as if they’d run in and dragged me out of a house fire.”
Ken: “I worry there are people in need who don’t know about the Charity”
Ernie: “Never give up, that’s what I say.”
Peter: “The staff at Jubilee House saved me.”
