Mark Schofield Case Study WEB (7)

Real life story categories

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.

Category: Social wellbeing

Jamie: “This was our torch to hold up against the darkness.”

Jamie: “This was our torch to hold up against the darkness.”

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.

Cathy: “Coming here means you don’t feel so alone”

Cathy: “Coming here means you don’t feel so alone”

Cheshire firefighter's wife Cathy McBrion was just 53 when she had a stroke while at the wheel and life changed in a matter of seconds. Now she has become a familiar face at Jubilee House, somewhere that she says has brought her out of her shell when her confidence was all but lost.

Suzanne: “Panic attacks were getting in the way of my grief.”

Suzanne: “Panic attacks were getting in the way of my grief.”

After her firefighter husband passed away suddenly in April, panic attacks were ruining Suzanne Constable's life. She agreed to contact the Charity and see what they could do for her, but she had no idea just how much she would take away from her week at Marine Court.

Emma: “I just thought ‘I need to be part of this’.”

Emma: “I just thought ‘I need to be part of this’.”

Emma Hughes has just become our first Charity Ambassador, a new voluntary role that aims to increase awareness of The Fire Fighters Charity. And it's all in memory of her dad, Graham, a firefighter with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, who passed away in 2003.

Alistair: “I wanted to show I needed help because others might as well”

Alistair: “I wanted to show I needed help because others might as well”

After a change of circumstances forced him to move into a shed, Scottish firefighter Alistair McNab contacted our Welfare Services Team. We caught up with him to find out how his life has turned around since then. From the depths of depression, to the safety of his new flat, this is a story of bravery in the face of adversity.