Crowd Funding for Barry Martin.

[bill.advanced]

https://www.fbu.org.uk/campaigns/fundrai...r-families

Thanks Ns, I have to admit my total ignorance of this.
That’s good that the fire brigades union have set this up. But it would be good to know what has been collected for their members. I cannot seem to find this DONATETM online to find out, also I assume (possibly wrongly) this service only applies to fire brigades union members. I and it seems many are unaware of this, as can be seen from many of the contributions made by watches, brigades, and fire service individuals to Barry’s fund. I think there should be a national voluntary scheme set up involving all members and retired ffs run by the brigades whereby in the event of a member dying on duty a deduction is made from everyone who has volunteered. And I know this raises many issues. Should someone killed on duty be treated differently from someone who dies on duty, and what happens to someone who dies off duty. What happens if a large number die suddenly in a short time period etc. This kind of thing would have to be sorted, but I don’t think the status quo is effective enough at dealing with such tragedies.

[Nightstaffer]

Bill,
If you click on the link and scroll down you will be taken to a variety of fundraising efforts not just for Barry Martin but others who have died before retiring and the amounts raised .

[Mod Star]

I cannot see why.
This money has been given on a voluntary basis by individuals, the accident and injury fund is an insurance based fund, based purely on risk. Whatever the standard payment is as per the policy won’t be affected by personal wealth, or an online fund set up for Barry. Sadly as far as I know due to his short service there will be no pension payout, there will however be a relatively small one of payment from the scheme. I would have thought if there is any litigation this would also be unaffected, based purely on the circumstances of the claim, but obviously this being a legal matter I am not 100% on this, but I would be surprised if the fund had any bearing on the final payment set. But litigation if pursued by the fire brigades union will take years to be resolved, and Barrie’s family will need immediate financial assistance. I hope this makes some in positions of influence take cognisance of this, and do something positive about it. We simply have to do a lot better than this.

Pension will pay out.

[bill.advanced]

Pension will pay out.

I meant there would be no pension. There was always a one off payment on death.
But my wording was poor.

[bill.advanced]

Bill,
If you click on the link and scroll down you will be taken to a variety of fundraising efforts not just for Barry Martin but others who have died before retiring and the amounts raised .

I first looked at it on my phone Ns, but looking on my Mac I have found what you describe.
To date they have raised £7623 for Barry, better than nothing I suppose.
The other causes look to be well underfunded some only hundreds of pounds.

[bill.advanced]

I remember as a young lad of barely 19 Joining the fire service.
I remember well the sense of being part of something , that meant something, to myself, people who knew me, and the public at large.
I used to wear my uniform when taking the bus to and from work, and rarely would the bus driver take my fare.
I remember the big strike through the winter of 1977/8, the support we got both financially and morally from a public which valued us, and valued what we did and stood for.
But most of all I remember having a feeling that I was part of a family that would take care of me and my family if something happened to me.
Sadly by the time I retired things had changed, and these memories were exactly that, just memories.

I know times are tough, much tougher than in my time.
And I know that those times I described have gone, and probably will never return.
But the one thing that we have within in our control is to take care of each other when the need arises.
I was really proud at what we all achieved for Andy Adams after his tragic injuries which left him paraplegic and in a wheelchair.
The house builder agreeing to alter their plans and build a house suitable for Andy's needs.
Inverclyde Council finally getting their act together and passing the plans so the work could go ahead.
The fire brigades union lottery giving Andy £30,000.
The substantial amount raised online.
The events ran by his fire station in Greenock.
And the way the local paper and the community supported Andy.
Even his football team Greenock Morton supported Andy giving him a position within the club.
I felt that we had done Andy proud, and given him not only financial assistance, but the kind of support both he and his family needed.

But sadly I don't feel this way about Barry.
I feel he and his family have been let down badly.
I know some won't agree, and I am fine with that.
But I just feel we could have and should have done more.
And if any of my comments have offended anyone I can only offer a sincere apology.

[Nightstaffer]

Stirring words Bill

I wouldn’t associate the word “ paltry “ with our community so maybe we are unaware of other efforts .

If there aren’t any then why not?

[The Bald One]

I have given to his family....such a sad event.Rest in peace Barry.
You are right Bill...it could have happened to any of us !

[ben]

In my brigade we had a thing called a HELP scheme which I ran, , when a colleague passed away on duty all subscribing members paid a £1 out of their next salary and the amount was donated to their next of kin, I tried to raise this to £5 but came across a little resistance, I've been gone for 14 years so I am unaware if the scheme still exists, wouldn't it be great if all brigades adopted this policy to guarantee a donation to next of kin

[ben]

I would like to clarify the above post, this scheme covered colleagues who passed away on duty in all brigades, so our donation was sent all over the country