300 miles, 102 fire stations, 1 firefighter.
Steve, a firefighter from Stoke Mandeville, has completed a run between all 102 London fire stations – covering 300 miles in just over five days – to raise vital funds for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care as well as The Fire Fighters Charity.
Steve Moore, who is based at Edmonton Fire Station, started The Great Fire of London Run at London Fire Brigade’s HQ on Union Street, on 21 May, before ending five days later at the Great Fire of London Monument on Monument Square.
He used the challenge to fundraise for us as his wife works as a Senior Hospice at Home Nurse in our south Buckinghamshire team, so he understands how important our services are.
Steve, who has undertaken many endurance challenges in the past, explained how he came up with the idea:
“When I moved to my current station in Edmonton they had a big map of London on the wall that showed all the London Fire Brigade fire stations. I kept looking at the map, wondering whether it was possible to run between them all. After a while I decided to stop thinking about it and give it a go!
“It took around a year to plan everything and finalise a route. Some of my London Fire Brigade colleagues provided a support vehicle for me throughout the challenge and I had the full support of everybody at London Fire Brigade.”
Steve kept his followers up to date via Instagram during the challenge, sharing pictures from several of the fire stations he visited along the way. As he concluded his challenge he wrote:
“A massive rollercoaster of pain, feelings, emotion, beliefs, tears and laughs. The most important thing I feel though is the huge gratitude I feel towards the people and support I’ve had to get to the end”
Steve then goes on to thank his friends, family and fire brigade crew who came out and cheered him on during his journey.
Tracey Hancock, our Director of Fundraising says:
“Steve’s fundraising challenge is an inspiring feat and I’d like to thank him for using it to support our work. We rely on the generosity of our local community to fund the majority of our patient services so every penny raised will make a big difference to the patients and families we work with.”
Steve also raised funds for The Fire Fighters Charity, where he received support at one of its three rehabilitation centres – Harcombe House in Devon – after injuring his back a few years ago.
The Fire Fighters Charity’s Community Fundraiser, Clare Delaney, said:
“I want to wholeheartedly thank Steve for organising such a fantastic challenge. Every pound donated to Steve’s fundraiser will make an incredible difference to the support we continue to offer his colleagues and their families across the UK.”