Fire Fighters Charity

What Fire Fighters Charity does

The Fire Fighters Charity is a UK-registered charity, founded in 1941, that provides health and wellbeing services to serving and retired fire service personnel and their families. Its service portfolio spans three residential centres located in Devon, West Sussex, and Cumbria, which deliver physical rehabilitation, psychological therapy, and recuperative breaks, alongside community-based programmes including youth engagement (Fire Cadets, Fire Fighters), bereavement support, and a digital Mental Health Self-Assessment Tool delivered in partnership with RightSteps. Clinically registered staff (psychological therapists, nurses, physiotherapists) and a Training Academy underpin service delivery, supported by more than 1,000 volunteers.

The organisation's go-to-market is anchored by formal relationships with all 52 UK Fire and Rescue Services, which act as the primary referral channel and source of on-the-ground volunteer support. It holds a Gambling Commission licence to operate a lottery (contributing £1,465,402 annually), and a Royal Patron in His Majesty The King, signalling institutional endorsement at the highest level.

Income is generated through a diversified mix: voluntary donations and legacies, a regulated lottery, commercial recycling operations (over £600,000), venue hire, holiday lets, retail, and paid referrals from NHS and other external commissioners for rehabilitation services. Approximately 200 employees and 1,000+ volunteers support operations, and in its busiest year the charity helped 13,507 beneficiaries. The charity is led by CEO Sherine Wheeler, who received the CEO of the Year award at the 2025 Women in Fire and Emergency Services Awards.

Name

Fire Fighters Charity

Legal name

Fire Fighters Charity

Website

https://firefighterscharity.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Fire Fighters Charity is a UK-registered charity founded in 1941 that delivers physical rehabilitation, psychological support, and community programmes to serving and retired fire service personnel and their families via three residential centres and partnerships with all 52 UK Fire and Rescue Services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Healthcare Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fire & Rescue Services (Fire Suppression, Rescue) (BPAIAGAB), Humanitarian Health & Emergency Medical Relief NGOs (HLAJAKAE)

Keywords

• Charity healthcare services
• Firefighter wellbeing support
• Clinical rehabilitation services
• Mental health charity
• Community fundraising programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Basingstoke, Hampshire

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individuals, corporations, and fire service personnel. Includes Gift Aid scheme for UK taxpayers.
2. Lottery: Monthly lottery generating approximately £1,465,402 in ticket proceeds for 2024/25. Tickets cost £1 each, with prizes including £5,000 jackpot, £1,000 second prize, and £500 third prize. At least 73p per ticket goes directly to funding services.
3. Holiday Rentals: Holiday accommodations at three centres in Devon, Cumbria, and West Sussex. Bookings generate income to fund charitable care and support.
4. Venue Hire: Conference rooms, gyms, pools, and other facilities available for hire at the three centres when not in use for charitable programmes.
5. Commercial Rehabilitation: Fee-based specialist clinical rehabilitation services for individuals and organizations outside the fire service, including partnerships with Prison Officers Association.
6. Retail Shop: Online shop selling gifts, toys, clothing, and accessories. Each purchase funds clinical care and support.
7. Clothing Recycling: Partnership with UK Fire and Rescue Services and textile recyclers. Generated over £600,000 in the last 12 months. Every tonne of clothing donated generates £120.
8. Legacies and Bequests: Gifts left in Wills by supporters to provide ongoing funding for the charity's future work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fire Fighters Charity is a UK-registered national healthcare charity providing lifelong clinical care, mental health support, personal wellbeing, and practical assistance for serving and former UK fire and rescue service personnel and their families. Services are delivered through three residential centres (Jubilee House in Cumbria, Harcombe House in Devon, Marine Court in West Sussex), an online wellbeing hub, and community programmes. Funded primarily through voluntary donations, a monthly lottery, clothing recycling, retail, and commercial rehabilitation services.

Product overview

Fire Fighters Charity is a national healthcare charity providing clinical care, personal wellbeing, and practical support for the UK fire services community. The charity operates a multi-channel service delivery model consisting of three residential rehabilitation centres (Jubilee House in Cumbria, Harcombe House in Devon, and Marine Court in West Sussex), an integrated digital service through the Online Wellbeing Hub, and community-based programmes. Core services include mental health support (one-to-one psychological care, Reset Programme, Crisis Line), physical health services (physiotherapy, exercise therapy, nursing care), personal wellbeing programmes (Rest and Recharge stays, Family Weeks, Wellness Workshops), and practical support (financial advice, home adaptations, housing assistance). Fundraising products include the Fire Fighters Lottery, an online shop, clothing recycling programme, and venue hire services. The charity also offers commercial rehabilitation services for non-fire service organisations and maintains a podcast (Shout!) as part of its awareness and support content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fire Fighters Lottery: Monthly lottery with £5K jackpot supporting the charity's work. Has been running for over 23 years.
• Fire Fighters Trading

Products and services

• Online Wellbeing Hub

Quantifiable outcome

• 13,507 people helped with health and wellbeing in the last year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Elvis & KressecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLuxury lifestyle brand that has partnered with Fire Fighters Charity. The partnership involves workshop visits and product collaboration supporting the fire services community.
• AutoglymcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCar care products brand supporting Fire Fighters Charity through corporate partnership.
• XPS GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor of Fire Fighters Charity's Christmas fundraising campaign.
• William WoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWatch brand that supports Fire Fighters Charity as a corporate supporter.
• RosenbauerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFire apparatus and equipment manufacturer partnered with Fire Fighters Charity.
• TuffkingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirefighter footwear provider that launched a partnership with Fire Fighters Charity.
• Serve and Protect Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCredit union serving emergency services personnel, partnered with Fire Fighters Charity.
• MeikominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial cleaning equipment manufacturer supporting Fire Fighters Charity as corporate supporter.
• OddballsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClothing brand that created a Fire Fighters Charity collection, with proceeds supporting the charity.
• The UK Fire AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrade association for fire safety working in partnership with Fire Fighters Charity.
• Global Fire EquipmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFire equipment manufacturer partnered with Fire Fighters Charity.
• Fire & Acoustic SealsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFire and acoustic sealing products company supporting Fire Fighters Charity.
• Brooklin Claims Consultants LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClaims consulting firm partnered with Fire Fighters Charity.
• Prison Officers AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPOA refers its members to Fire Fighters Charity for specialist clinical rehabilitation services at Jubilee House, demonstrating trust in the charity's expertise beyond fire service personnel.
• PayPlanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree confidential debt advice provider partnered with Fire Fighters Charity to offer financial wellbeing resources and advice to beneficiaries.
• Sterling LotteriescoreTechnology or IntegrationTrusted lottery management experts who run Fire Fighters Charity's monthly lottery using a secure, independently tested and audited random number generator.
• AicominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome safety provider whose employees have participated in corporate volunteering at Fire Fighters Charity's centres.
• Surrey Fire and Rescue ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Fire Fighters Charity and Mad Cow Films for the production of 'The Silence Between Calls' short film highlighting psychological impacts of fire service work.
• Mad Cow FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company that created the award-winning 'The Silence Between Calls' film pro bono for Fire Fighters Charity in partnership with Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mind: Leading UK mental health charity providing information, support, and campaigning across the general population. Overlaps with Fire Fighters Charity on the psychological care and crisis line services, though Mind operates at much broader scale and without the residential infrastructure.
• SSAFA: The UK's oldest military charity, providing welfare, mental health, and family support to serving personnel, veterans, and their dependants. Operates in the same vertical (uniformed service family support) but at broader scale and with a different beneficiary focus.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK health charity delivering clinical, financial, and emotional support for people affected by cancer. Comparable as a specialist UK health charity with multiple support channels, residential nursing capability, lottery and retail revenue streams, and a Royal Patron model.
• NHS Charities Together: National umbrella body supporting NHS charities across the UK with fundraising and grant programmes. Comparable as a large UK health-focused charity operating across multiple regional sites and using a mix of donations and commercial revenue streams.
• Samaritans: UK charity providing 24/7 emotional support and suicide prevention via a national helpline. Comparable to Fire Fighters Charity's 24/7 Crisis Line at much larger national scale and a cross-demographic beneficiary model.
• The Royal British Legion: The UK's largest armed forces charity, providing lifelong welfare, healthcare, and remembrance support to veterans and their families. A broad incumbent in the same sector — uniformed service community support — with overlapping capabilities but at much greater scale and a different beneficiary base.

Direct peers

• Help for Heroes: Major UK military charity delivering physical and psychological rehabilitation, welfare support, and lifelong care to wounded veterans and their families. Closely mirrors Fire Fighters Charity's model of integrated clinical rehabilitation and wellbeing support for a uniformed service community.
• Police Treatment Centres: UK charity operating residential treatment centres for serving and retired police officers, providing physical rehabilitation, mental health support, and recuperative breaks — the closest structural analogue to Fire Fighters Charity, just for a different emergency service workforce.
• Police Care UK: Charity providing welfare, health, and bereavement support to serving and former police officers and their families across the UK. Direct peer because it addresses the same beneficiary need (emergency services personnel and dependants) using a similar donation-funded service model.
• Combat Stress: UK charity providing specialist mental health treatment for veterans with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. A direct peer on the psychological care and crisis support side of Fire Fighters Charity's service portfolio, particularly relevant given FFC's 10% rise in psychological care demand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/firefighters999
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/firefighterscharity
• Facebookfacebook.com/thefirefighterscharity
• Instagraminstagram.com/thefirefighterscharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-fire-fighters-charity

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fire Fighters Charity