South East Fire and Rescue is a newly formed registered charity organisation. We are a volunteer group made up of military veterans and former/current emergency service personnel.
The aim was to provide a group for those that have served in the prospective services and since leaving, found it hard to adjust to civilian life.
We meet once a week and train to current fire service standards. We then give our time back further by providing fire cover at a wide range of community events. The support we provide to our members is invaluable and it has helped them a lot with the transition to civilian life. This is a great environment for these people to be in especially with what they have done for our communities/country as part of their current/previous jobs.
As the charity founder, I set this up after leaving the Royal Air Force after an operational tour of Afghanistan I was left with PTSD. It was at least a year after leaving that I was diagnosed with PTSD by which time I had received no support from the military. It was through my counselling that it was highlighted that I needed to be around like minded people that understood what military life was like and that could speak openly about their own experiences which was a great coping mechanism. With an investment from myself, South East Fire and Rescue was formed. We began with 5 members which has grown to now 18 members!
Event organisers love having us at their events and speak very highly of our volunteers who all go above and beyond showing children around our vehicles. We pride ourselves on community engagement.
All members are volunteers and we are 100% self-funded.
So what am I seeking help with?
Our current appliance (fire engine) is sadly in need of replacing. It is now 20 years old and is forming many faults. It is becoming very expensive to repair as it is happening quite frequently.
We have been looking for a suitable replacement and we need at least £37000 for a similar but newer vehicle. As mentioned we are totally self-funded and our annual income is approx. £8000. This is generated from the events that we cover across the South East. Those funds however go back into covering insurance, fuel and maintenance costs.