About

Founded by Essex Firefighters in 1989 to help Children who are going through difficult times.

Whether paying for new clothes and toys lost by a fire to donating to medical care. Firefighters have been fundraising to help those who need it most.

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How we started.

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Written by Sid McNally.

Having seen on the TV & in the newspapers the plight of the Bosnian people & especially the children a group of Essex Firefighters organised themselves to take humanitarian aid to the area. With borrowed UN flags fitted to both sides of the lorry, they joined a convoy of UN trucks but these did not stop the lorry from attracting the odd round or two as they steadily moved along the winding roads. Bullets were found in cereal boxes that where unloaded to the grateful recipients that were waiting in the town square, sugar puffs were proven the best at stopping bullets.  

The Bosnian conflict ended in 1995 but the firefighters had a newfound passion to provide direct assistance. Following the collapse of communism in 1989, the TV programme “Challenge Anneka” highlighted the squalor that Romanian orphans were being kept in. The newly formed team of Essex firefighters were once again stirred into action this time linking up with other charities & various projects. 

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In late 1994, Firefighters Aid for Children was officially formed by getting our registered charity number. We are now affiliated to the Fundraising Regulator & governed by the rules of the Charity Commission. 

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Time moves on & as states joined the EU their needs diminished, however Romanian orphanages were still being filled with young children due mainly to poverty, social ignorance & non-existent health care. The Ceausescu’s had left a devastating legacy & while there was still a need we were still going, One of the other charity groups we assisted was Jubilee Outreach Yorkshire (JOY) they provided the Aid and we provided the direct transport to most of eastern Europe guarantying its safe arrival at no cost to their charity.  

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Many trips were made & although the Essex firefighters were a tough bunch & not easily intimidated we had to part with the odd box of biscuits, chocolate and even pens to the various border guards who would not lower their weapons until we had parted with something. On one occasion, we were held up on the way back! Empty they demanded cash. We acted ignorant to their request, so they acted out the exchange by putting money in my passport & explaining the difference between a good passport & a bad passport. We were clearly not going anywhere until money was placed in my co driver’s passport & handed over. The guards took the money from that passport & threw both passports back into the cab. The barrier went up & we were told to go, peddle to the metal we were gone into no man’s land. I said to my mate Colin“check my passport, only during that charade I think the guard had forgotten to remove HIS money” sure enough there it was. We could only laugh & wave out the windows as we crossed through into Hungary. 

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The fun of the border crossings stopped in 2007 so we could now turn a trip round in about 4 or 5 days instead of the week that it would usually take. We ceased our trips in 2013 having started out in 1990 delivering food & blankets at the end we were delivering computers & desks so they could network for themselves (give a man a fishing rod!). During those years, we transported X ray machines, dental chairs, false limbs, wheelchairs, walking frames, special beds, Inco pads, medicines & so much more. However, they are now connected & managing for themselves. 

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With a sense of achievement & a spate of retirements, the charity laid dormant for a couple of years. Then I spotted a local charity called Side by Side with refugees doing some amazing work. Therefore, with some new blood we were up & running again & off to Calais (The Jungle) to offer humanitarian aid to the unaccompanied children. New children of all ages were arriving in the camp every day usually as part of a larger group with no relatives. Luckily, for them there was a woman named Liz Clegg who stayed on camp, a former firefighter from the UK who took it upon herself to record, organise, clothe & feed around 450 children. For us she was the ideal person to connect with. Forget politics, forget religion, forget colour, a scared, hungry, cold child is not something we can walk past, look away or forget. Although the jungle has since been smashed down & its inhabitants dispersed using tear gas, its children are now scattered around various other smaller camps with some making their way back to Paris for shelter. One initiative was to give these vulnerable children mobile phones so if they became victims of trafficking, slavery or abuse they could contact voluntary organisations like Side by Side or Care4Calais. Sadly, I have heard first hand that this system has thankfully worked & saved lives.  

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At home, we have a long list of children from around London, Essex & as far as Northern Ireland that we assist with various needs, from specialist equipment to providing funds for transport to & from hospital appointments. They become members of our firefighters aid for children family & often visit the fire station to keep us updated with their progress. Other projects include providing basic living equipment such as a kettle, microwave, bed, bedding & clothes for children exiting the care system into a local authority premises. We have also undertaken projects (garden clearing & decorating) at the local women’s refuge providing positive male role models for children that have witnessed some horrendous acts. 

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AS firefighters our team spirit & fundamental socialist ideals to help & assist wherever possible makes for a great mix of personalities all pulling together to reach a common goal. At our collections the great traveling public always give generously, we know that we are in a privileged position as well respected public sector workers but sadly we still attract the odd “get back to work” or “I hope this money is staying in this country” comments thankfully few & far between. We have four Trustees comprising of one Firefighter, one Watch Manager, one ADO & one retired Station Officer with an MBE. Then we have the vital 10-15 collectors all firefighters (ranks various) that give their time freely to carry out early morning collections at mainline stations thanks to Network rail & C2C rail & their staff. 

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 I personally would like to thank all of our brothers & sisters & hopefully they feel proud of their efforts when they read this in the FBU magazine. I feel that our small charity is standing on a beach throwing one of many stranded starfish back into the sea, probably not making a big difference in the scheme of things but a massive difference to the individual.  

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None of us has gone looking for attention or accolade but I wish to mention FF Lee Vine 13381 White Watch Basildon. 07/06/71 to 25/12/16 Tall & handsome Lee was our best collector by far & good fun on all our trips.

Rest in Peace Lee, missed by us all every day.   

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