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.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Stuart Millington says raising awareness of what we do, not only for operational firefighters, but support staff too, is one of his top priorities after he experienced the Charity’s support first-hand. Dean Nelson was forced to retire from his job as a firefighter after a devastating accident left him with major injuries. Now, while he knows his condition will continue to deteriorate, he says the Charity has helped him achieve a better way of life. On-call firefighter Melanie Davis attended our Covid Recovery Programme last year after struggling with the long-term impacts of Covid-19. She says it provided the help she’d been craving for months. Andrew Robinson has been supported by the Charity with his mental health recently – and he says online Living Well Groups have helped him reconnect with the community he missed so much. Firefighter John Casey says, having been supported by the Charity throughout a difficult few years in which he received a life-altering health diagnosis, he feels comforted knowing it’s there for him in the years to come.
Stuart: “You’re being put first, there’s nothing to feel embarrassed about or fear”
Dean: “I’ll be in a wheelchair in a few years… the Charity helped lift a huge weight off my shoulders”
Melanie: “To have this opportunity is amazing – it’s about not feeling alone anymore”
Andrew: “My heart and soul were in firefighting… it was difficult adjusting to retirement”
John: “After hitting rock bottom, knowing the Charity is there is a huge reassurance”
