Leeds woman honouring firefighter dad who died suddenly before getting chance to receive award for 20 years of service

Darren Abrams was approaching 20 years of service with the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service when he died in November 2022. He was part of Hunslet Fire Station’s Red Watch Team. His 23-year-old daughter, Alex Abrams, has set herself the gruelling marathons challenge in order to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity in memory of her dad.

Alex said: “It would be so easy to give up on everything. However, I know my dad would want me to carry on living life and to keep achieving and believing in myself. He always believed in me so much and encouraged me and my brothers, Oliver and William and my sister Emily, to do great things and be the best we can be.

“I ran my first marathon last year which was the Manchester marathon and I had my dad, mum, step mum and sister cheering me on. My dad and sister even joined in alongside me running among all the marathon runners. It’s a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. He was and always will be my biggest supporter.”

Alex will be taking on the London Marathon in April, before tackling the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon just three weeks later in May. She said: “He absolutely loved his job and put his heart and soul into everything he did. His passion, strength and drive for life will live on in us forever. He always wanted to do the best he could in every aspect of his life, and he worked so hard for our family. He is and always will be my biggest inspiration. My dad and his colleagues are real life heroes, and it makes me so proud to say that he is and always will be a firefighter who saved so many people.”

“The Fire Fighters Charity provide help for serving and retired fire fighters and their families all over the UK. They help those that need support in different aspects of their lives, mentally, physically and socially. To be able to run the London Marathon in April is something I could only have ever imagined.

"However, to be able to do it for my dad, and for a charity that means a lot to him and us as a family is something that will be very special to me forever. Then a few weeks later to run the Leeds Marathon, in the city that my dad was born and raised in, and spent his whole life serving in, means more to me than anything. Everything I do in my life will be to honour him and make him proud. I can only hope to be as great as he is.”

Alex has already raised over £3,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity and is still accepting donations on her JustGiving page.