How can we thank the Fire Service?

I know the Police and Ambulance also do incredible work but it's the sheer number of huge wildfires this summer which has made things so hard for the fire service. There have been hundreds of them up and down the country, some are still raging.

Firemen are still trying to stop a huge underground fire near Peterborough, where the peat is burning up to 6 meters under the ground and cannot be extinguished. They have been working on this for weeks and will be there until September. www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2k7el33zplo

Those who say they are just doing their job and they get paid have obviously not been watching the news. Firemen have gone well above and beyond this summer.

Sparky51

Well..to be fair,it is their job???.not denying what they do...What about the other workers..

Did you read my post Sparky51. Across the wider UK, headcount data shows around 35% of operational fire personnel serve via the retained duty system. These are people with other jobs, who are on call for the Fire Service. I can’t think of any other service where 35% of the front line workers have other jobs which they do until they are needed at which point they become full time+ frontline staff, can you?

I don’t know about Europe but here they really risk their lives and quite often are killed. Most of ours in the country areas are unpaid volunteers ( CFA). Only the city firefighters get paid. They are heroes, every one of them in my book.

Jaxjacky

I agree Cossy.
I always feel for them attending fatal road accidents as well as other duties, a lot of their shifts are many nasty jobs other than fires.

Not to mention the police and ambulance service who also attend fatalities ! Give some thought to those who are tasked to walk along a railway line collecting body parts when someone has jumped in front of a speeding train.

Well..to be fair,it is their job???.not denying what they do...What about the other workers..

I pinned this to the top of our hospital radio station's Facebook page and people have been donating. We are in the area of the New Forest wildfire.

We would all like to do something for those incredible men and women who are out in this heat fighting one fire after another - and all with such professionalism and bravery.
DWFireRescue's partners support them on the sites of these fires.

What we can do is donate to www.firefighterscharity.org.uk - set up to support every single firefighter throughout the UK.
Let's show them how much we thank them. Just click the link.

Chestnut

I feel the country should find a way to honour and thank all the fire fighters who have tirelessly fought so many huge fires over the summer.

Their efforts reduced me to tears on several occasions during the heatwave. We had fires everywhere, mountains, woods, fields, houses, they were out there, day after day, dressed in heavy clothing and surrounded by raging flames on days of 30 degrees plus.

They really have gone above and beyond, so what can we do, how can we show them how much we appreciate their dedication? Maybe some kind of award or medal? 🥇

They get paid

Support when they are on strike, donations to benevolent funds and above all teaching our youngsters not to do silly things like lighting fires to burn school books. A national campaign about setting off fireworks and paper lanterns and of course dangers of BBQ's in open spaces and garden bonfires in extreme heat waves.

That says it all Casdon....on their knees all of them, absolutely exhausted. Yes and retained firefighters in rural towns. They do deserve a medal, all of them.

A glimpse of what it’s been like in mid Wales, from the Times today. Bear in mind all the fire stations in our rural towns are wholly staffed by retained firefighters rather than full timers. They deserve medals.

I don't know how they managed to do it. I applaud them whole-heartedly. Maybe we should all say something to anyone using a portable barbeque & throwing fag ends on the ground. It's difficult to do anything about the idiots throwing fag ends out of car windows. Just wish we could do something about arsonists.

we make food for the one next to us

Like all the emergency services, the firefighters have gone above and beyond in trying to keep wildfires contained in such tinder dry conditions.
This may well be the pattern of summers in the years to come so I would like to see a ban on portable barbeques and if some people decide to construct their own, then very heavy fines, even imprisonment if people and/or property has been destroyed. Too often people think they have been extinguished only for them to flare up again later.

Donations to the benevolent fund.

Chestnut

I feel the country should find a way to honour and thank all the fire fighters who have tirelessly fought so many huge fires over the summer.

Their efforts reduced me to tears on several occasions during the heatwave. We had fires everywhere, mountains, woods, fields, houses, they were out there, day after day, dressed in heavy clothing and surrounded by raging flames on days of 30 degrees plus.

They really have gone above and beyond, so what can we do, how can we show them how much we appreciate their dedication? Maybe some kind of award or medal? 🥇

Absolutely need thanking 👏👏👏👏👏

A pay rise or bonus would be the obvious thing.
Just think of the boss of Thames Water receiving a cleverly previously negotiated bonus of £1 million, basically for doing his job, not solving its ever increasing problems.

A shout out from me for the many retained firemen who have been doing a tremendous job too. Our local fire station has been posting updates on the wildfires they have been supporting - it’s easy to forget that many firemen have other, full time jobs and volunteer for the fire service. Their employers have been great, but it’s a massive extra commitment for them, working very long hours, out of the local area. I’d also like to think the army, the Gurkhas have a big base near me, and watching them hand digging trenches for fire breaks on boiling hot days really makes you appreciate their contribution. Well done everybody.

Fire fighters did a great job but so did many volunteers who turned out to help in an emergency.

I agree Cossy.
I always feel for them attending fatal road accidents as well as other duties, a lot of their shifts are many nasty jobs other than fires.

Our fire people are amazing. They are extremely well trained and have really stepped up to the mark and everything they’ve done recently is to be applauded.

However, in the nicest way, I feel that they are doing their job, the one they chose and the one that they are paid to do.

Just like many of our public services.

I supported them when they striked, as I think they raised excellent points.

Dropping something in to a local station would be much appreciated and a nice big public thank-you from those in charge would be brilliant.

Our firefighters have been working tirelessly this summer to keep us safe so deserve our thanks as do other emergency services who put their lives on the line.

Thankyou for your lovely post Chestnut, one of my sons is a Fireman and also this situation.
They do an amazeing Job, some incidents they have to deal with are just awful as its not only putting out fires.

I think that just our thanks would be enough and to support them in any way we can. They do their job like any of us and I just hope they know how sincerely we are grateful to them.

Or simple "thank yous" from the ordinary public?

The same as we often do if grateful for the support of medical teams?

I just dropped a card and box of biscuits off to our local fire station many years ago.

A tray of clementines maybe?