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.
Linda Alcock thought she would never be able to walk again after neurosurgery left her unable to lift her chin off her chest without intense pain. She said all she wanted was to be able to see planes in the sky. Now, thanks to the care and support she received at Jubilee House, she is able to see the stars. For the first time ever, Hertfordshire Station Commander James Bull is opening up about his own mental health struggles in the hope it inspires other people to do the same. And what better place to do so than the sub-Saharan Desert? For former RAF firefighter Mark Latham, the combination of a near-fatal accident and traumatic incident while deployed in Afghanistan left him struggling to cope. He waited to ask for support because he felt like he didn't deserve help, something he says he regrets. But since visiting Harcombe House, he's happier and healthier than he has been in years. Clare Banks is walking a thousand miles in a year to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity, as a way of saying thank you for the kindness shown to her husband, Cliff, after his stroke. Through the ups and downs, they are by each other's side, every single step of the way. As the Health, Fitness and Wellbeing Advisor for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, Fiona Prew is no stranger to signposting people to the Charity to help them with their recovery. But when hit by a car while riding her bicycle and left with potentially life-changing injuries, she admits it took her longer than it ought to have done for her to consider asking for help herself.
Linda: “I have achieved all I was aiming for, and it’s all thanks to you”
James: “My story is not unique. But we don’t talk enough.”
Mark: “I shouldn’t have waited until I was burnt out before contacting you”
Clare: “We’re taking things one step at a time, with each other by our sides”
Fiona: “I kick myself for leaving it so long before I called for myself”
