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.
When the pandemic hit in 2020 and pressure grew on the ambulance service, on-call firefighter Martin Green volunteered to help out – never expecting to fall in love and become engaged in the process. After 30 years in the fire service, most of which she’s spent volunteering for the Charity, Kim McNeil has now retired. Here she shares how much it’s meant to her. For firefighter Jim Johnson’s wife Karen, the Charity has supported her not once, but twice - more recently providing a much-needed break following a cancer diagnosis. Now she’s urging anyone else struggling to reach out. When firefighter Sasha Acheson injured her shoulder playing rugby, she faced weeks out of work. But thanks to the support she received from the Charity, she went on to achieve her dream just months later. After 20 years in the fire service, Ian Richards says he was burnt out. But time spent with The Fire Fighters Charity helped him find the strength within himself to realise a life-long dream. And now he spends his days enjoying the peace and serenity of a small plot of land in the south of France.
Martin: “When I volunteered as a paramedic in lockdown I never expected to fall in love”
Kim: “I’ve seen all sides of the Charity… from volunteering to receiving support”
Karen: “For me it was a bit of a lifeline – I’d recommend anyone reach out”
Sasha: “I’m so thankful to the Charity for helping me achieve my dream”
Ian: “You helped me find the bravery to change my life”
