Fire fighters are constantly risking their lives to save ours, and in the process often experience injuries, stress, and emotional trauma. Sometimes this can even leave fire fighters unable to work.
That’s where the Fires Fighters Charity steps in. In 2012-13 alone, the Fire Fighters Charity has supported 4,547 fire fighters, retired fire fighters, support staff, and their family members.
The Fire Fighters Charity’s services include three rehabilitation centers to help get people in the fire community back on their feet. Results from the recovery and rehabilitation centers provide evidence of the improvements to the attending fire fighters’ health and wellbeing. Some of the key statistics include:
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s Watch Manager, Ged Phelan, turned to the Fire Fighters Charity when he found himself suffering from pain in his back and knee. Referred by the Occupational Health Service to the charity’s Jubilee House rehabilitation centre, Ged spent two weeks trying to get back on track.
Unexpectedly, stress was found to be the root cause of Ged’s physical pain. After only one session with a counselling-trained nurse, he says “…the nurse said it probably wasn’t my back that was the problem, but stress instead. I was suffering from depression and didn’t know.”
Within just six days of staying at the rehabilitation center, Ged felt improvements in his back and knee. He explains:
The fact that I had made my first breakthrough and talked about my problems lifted a huge weight that allowed me to move forward. I was humbled by how superb the facilities were.
The Fire Fighters Charity kept in touch with Ged after the stay, and discovered Ged was still experiencing physical pain from the stress a year later. The strain was in turn also extending to his family. This led to the charity arranging for both Ged and his family to stay at the Harcombe House, another one of The Fire Fighters Charity rehabilitation centers.
With all the support provided by the Fire Fighters Charity, Ged has managed to get back on track. He recently set up a support group for currently serving and retired fire fighters in his area to gain an understanding of services available to them.
The whole fire community is able to receive support from the charity; this includes the children and families of fire fighters. This year alone, 22 families with children suffering from physical and mental disabilities were supported. Harcombe House gave these families a chance to relax, recover as well as have fun with those in similar situations.
The charity depends wholly on fundraising from its supporters to cover its annual running costs of GB pound 8 million (US$13 million). Some of the charity’s supporters include, Lawrence M Barry & Co, Chelsea Building Society, Gatwick Airport Community Trust, and The Saddlers’ Company.
You can also help the charity to continue its work and develop its services by visiting www.firefighterscharity.org.uk.
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I think its really great that the firefighters receive this kind of support. All too often they are under-appreciated and taken for granted.
This is a great endeavor! I wish them the greatest success. Firefighters are every day heroes and I would agree that it’s wonderful that they receive this kind of support.
same here, I glad to hear it and knowing this happening… in my eyes they all Heroes I just hope we would have something simular in Canada…
Hats off for The Fire Fighters’ Charity doing such great work for the wellbeing of firefighting community! And in so many ways, not just physical health. It is always heartening to see such efforts at community level bearing fruit. The example of The Fire Fighter’s Charity should be copied in other communities as well.
What’s most fascinating to me in this effort is that The Charity is not only providing people with whatever help they need, be it physical or psychological, but also keeping track of the progress of people who has taken help from their rehabilitation center. This is really going an extra mile in helping aggrieved people.
While it is essentially a great community, rather humanity, service by The Fire Fighters’ Charity, it brings a very painful picture to our notice about the size of stress and strain firefighters have to bear. I also feel sympathetic toward firefighters’ families who are told to share the same strain as the firefighters do. They are giving too much to the community that can’t be paid back. Bravo!
The great thing about this charity is that it is not limited to just fire fighters. Families of fire fighters will also be benefited from it. Fire fighters are the real heroes of our daily life and we have to think about their families too as in the end of the day they are doing this dangerous job to look after theri families. Any thing happen to the head of the family really effects the rest. The good amount of money in this charity will definitely help the families of our Real Heroes.
These type of things should not stop. Good work should remain in a moving momentum. I really hope that these type of great charity work will also be continuing in future and will not come to an halt.
@ ITs_Hazel
It always bothers me when I hear people complain about paying firemen, and giving them the support they need. I would like to see someone who thinks firefighters are being paid too much run into a burning building to save a woman’s trapped child…or to save a little girls pet dog just so she won’t suffer the loss. They truly are heroes and definitely deserve to be well compensated for it.