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.
Asking for help is not an idea that comes naturally to Norman Meechan. A Scottish firefighter who spent 31 years with the service, he had always thought he could manage by himself without having to trouble anyone. But when his wife, Shonah, had a stroke and he later developed Parkinson’s Disease, it took him having a nervous breakdown before he realised how important it is to let others help you. A lightweight wheelchair paid for by the Charity opened up doors for former Fife firefighter David Leeson that he never thought were possible. From coastal rowing to representing his country at Wheelchair Curling, David says he is seeing and doing things he never thought he would when he was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 20 years ago. 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.
Norman: “You make my wife feel like a queen during her visits”
David: “I’m determined to get more out of MS than it gets out of me”
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”
