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.
When London firefighter Kieran Egan's son needed extensive surgery to remove tumours from his ears, the charity provided financial support so travel and accommodation could be one less thing to worry about. Six months ago, Berkshire firefighter Jamie Reeve's brother was hurt in an incident and remains in a critical condition in hospital. In the months that followed, our Welfare Services team have supported the family as they come to terms with their uncertain future. And when the coronavirus threatened their wedding day, Jamie and his partner, Charlotte, took matters into their own hands and got married in their back garden, just the two of them. It has been 11 years since Hampshire firefighters Jim Shears and Alan Bannon were killed in a fire in Shirley Towers, Southampton. For Jim’s widow, Carla, running and fundraising for the charity that supported her family in the aftermath of the tragedy became an important part of her healing. Realising recovery from surgery couldn't be an overnight fix was the biggest lesson Sheffield Crew Manager Paul Holbrook took away from his time with Fire Fighters Charity. That and how much he appreciated having his family around him to cheer him on. A last-minute stay at Marine Court gave single parent Claire Allen and her son Josh the time and space they needed to find peace, both with themselves and each other. Here the former retained firefighter from Devizes shares why she thinks people should cast aside embarrassment and ask for help when they need it. 
Kieran: “I could rely on the charity while my family relied on me”
Jamie: “This was our torch to hold up against the darkness.”
Carla: “I hope Jim is proud of me. I like to think he is.”
Paul: “I realised recovery isn’t an overnight thing.”
Claire: “If you can’t ask for yourself, do it for your loved ones”
