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.
Nervous at meeting strangers and unwilling to discuss the factors that led to her breakdown, firefighter's partner Angela Bell was reluctant to accept the offer of a stay at Harcombe House. But the friends she made became her support network in more ways than she could have imagined, and restored her faith in humanity. A restorative stay at our centre in Penrith was the perfect halfway house for Jane and Charlie McAllister to reconnect as a couple, following Jane's cancer diagnosis and treatment. Having been diagnosed with a life-changing and debilitating medical condition when he was only 40, Stephen Kyle understands the complex relationship between physical and mental health. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Firefighter turned Watch Manager shares his story. Donald Johnston, a Community Safety Advocate for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service visited Harcombe House in Devon to receive help for a problematic knee that affected his everyday life. Derek Wilson suffered a life threatening injury when responding to a shout and used the charity's services to help him get back on the run.
Angela: “We were all there with a common bond and looked after each other”
Jane: “We reconnected as a couple, rather than a couple living with cancer”
Stephen: “You set me on the right path and showed me how to walk it”
Donald: “I’m more mobile now”
Derek: “You’re all so close to my heart now”
