FFW

Freiwillige Feuerwehr or Voluntary fire brigade.
97.8% of the UK's fire brigade personnel are full-time employees.
97.5% of Germany's fire brigade personnel are voluntary.
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We all know how wonderful the UK is. The politicians and particular the Conservative Government keep ramming it down our throats daily. Again this week more Brexit communications this time about “Horizons 2020” the EU research and Euratom Projects and then the post-2020 cherry picking wishes. We haven't even got an agreement on the Withdrawal never mind a post March 2019 "Implementation Period".

Here a quote from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark:

“The government’s commitment to our world-leading science and research base remains steadfast. By underwriting the significant Horizon 2020 grants we are showing the extent of our commitment, standing squarely behind our researchers and scientists as they continue working with their European partners to develop new technologies, discover life- saving medicines and pioneer everyday innovations that will benefit all hard-working Britons.”

For goodness sake! These are the people leading the lambs off the cliff.

Some may find the following statistics about various fire brigades in Europe interesting:

Country -  Total Firefighters - Ratio to inhabs - Voluntary - Full Time
Austria           337,170                    4.12%               334,751        2,419
Poland            506,228                    1.32%              476,453      29,775
Germany     1,082,858                    1,31%           1,055,255      27,603
France            234,017                    0.40%              197,556      36,461
UK                     58,406                     0.10%                  1,227      39,058
Italy                   39,652                     0.07%                 4,000       30,652
The numbers are from a table in Wiki Germany on voluntary fire brigades and are a little old (2008) but I think adequate to make the point.

Even though I am very aware that quantity isn’t quality, perhaps and very sadly, the above may in part reflect the huge challenges and some “faults” that have been revealed during recent incidents in the UK.

We Brits do have a tendency to mock other public services, especially in the armed forces area. While the Brits only had conscription from 1916-20 and 1939-63, Germany restarted it post-WWII in 1956 and legally it is still in force but since 2011 has been put in abeyance. Naturally, the sight of a ponytail carrying German conscript in shabby camouflage was an eyesore to any SSM (Staff sergeant major) of the Coldstream Guards and the conclusion was drawn that if they had such “squaddies then the commanders couldn’t be better. And I don’t doubt there is anyone in Europe or the World who isn't impressed at the UK's truly “World Leading” army parades, air fly-overs and navy sail-bys – they even put a lump in my throat.

I am lucky enough never have had to serve in any such public service and have relied on those who put their lives on the line for us. For that, I think we are all very grateful and also to those powers who have sacrificed their young citizens and much money to ensuring peace in many parts of the world, notably in Europe and especially Germany.

 However, I digress a little again! Today storms were forecast for almost all Germany as Stormfront “Nadine” pushed up from the south-west. When I returned from emergency supermarket purchases in Ottobeuren, I saw one of the sections of our village voluntary fire-brigade doing their weekly Thursday evening training. They were pumping out water from a section of the stream in the village that has been landscaped to give easy access and perhaps, more importantly, to allow the stream to break out in the case of flooding and disperse into nearby fields. But luckily storm Nadine, unlike for much of Germany, past us by with no more than a stiff breeze and the fire brigade sirens remained silent.

The German voluntary fire brigade plays an incredibly important role in the entire life of rural communities and there isn’t an event that takes place without them being there to organise and officiate – religious parades, sports events, village fete etc etc etc. They are probably the most important institution in the village. Both villages in our 2,600 inhabitant parish have a separate brigade, each with an engine and own commandants.

They are like us all plagued by bureaucracy – recently a county in Bavaria decided to change the approval rules for village fetes/fests moving it from the auspices of the parish to the county council. And suddenly the organisers of various fests – invariably the fire brigade - were getting their applications refused as some official was throwing the full fire and safety rule book, meant for really big commercial events, at them! And without these events, the fire brigade can’t earn the money they need to buy new equipment. While financed by the parish council, there is always a difference between “Must Have” and Nice to Have”.

Even the parish council has to fight EU laws on competitive tendering that have meant huge amounts of very specialised and complicated paperwork. Or the latest EU data protection laws as the fire brigades need to keep records of their people but may well also have much more data about local people that they need for their community activities.

Our village doesn’t have a webpage but our main parish village, Sontheim, does. The link here takes you to their home pageand an important letter to all businesses in the area asking them to sponsor a new piece of equipment by taking advertising space on the vehicle. It is a refrigerated trailer, not to treat us elderly and weak during the heatwaves but to keep the beer cold for the various fests!

My personal thanks for the work they and all their colleagues do in Bavaria and Germany.
 
And by the way ….. a debate has just been started this week throughout Germany on bringing “conscription” out of hibernation. It would be for one-year of post-school “community work” and could be carried out in any such approved institution, even the forces, but likely to be in the care of elderly, kindergartens, schools, emergency services etc. - naturally paid.
 
I suspect the issue will disappear when the politicians return from holidays but it is certainly something I think should be discussed. I would be against a compulsory system but it would be nice if one could find a way of rewarding those that take it up, whether financially or by some way of “crediting” them as they later go onto an apprenticeship or higher education, perhaps by reducing the entry qualifications or study time. Most of these positions would not require moving out of the home and apart from the potential character-building, the benefit to society in general is far greater than the actual work they do. These people I am sure are less likely to become a “burden” on society and the security services in particular.
 
Boy, that was a long one…………..