A year ago, the Bad Wiessee fire brigade gave a lot of publicity to attract new talent.
The action was worth it - and will be continued.
Bad Wiessee
- You can't do without advertising, says Korbinian Herzinger, commander of the Wiesse fire brigade.
So it is fitting that a professional should be part of his volunteer team.
Florian Flach is a PR expert and a late-calling when it comes to the fire service.
He was already a family man, 39 years old, when he decided to become an active firefighter.
“When the children were born, I thought I wanted to get involved,” says Flach. The PR man completed the modular squad training and is now a youth trainer. As such, over a year ago he designed a campaign with comrades and friends to look for young talent. The Wiesse fire brigade looked for the "heroes of tomorrow" on posters, flyers and via social networks. Eight young people answered - and only one left the group. The seven others are still on board despite all the restrictions caused by the pandemic and want to finish their training. “The campaign really brought something,” says Flach. Commander Herzinger sees this as confirmation. “But you have to do something for it,” he says. So that the youngsters stay on the ball, he organizes surprises every now and then. Excursions, sightseeing,what's going on in Corona times.
Got a taste for it during the photo shoot
Katharina Dietrich (13) got stuck with the fire brigade during the photo shoot for recruiting.
Getting involved for others was already important to her before: Katharina is active in the BRK youth.
When the youth leader asked if she would be available for a photo for the fire brigade campaign, she was not shy and said yes.
It didn't stop with the photo.
Katharina has been part of the fire brigade youth group ever since.
The 13-year-old doesn't mind that she's the only girl there: "You can laugh more with boys than with some girls."
Philipp Uhlig (16) was already with the BRK and the water rescue service when the fire brigade recruited members for the youth group.
“I've already thought about doing something third,” he remembers.
But the fire brigade campaign on Instagram and the flyer in the mailbox had an impact.
Philipp decided to stop by - and stayed.
Quickly gained a foothold after moving
Felix Bernardy (25) is also new to the Wiesse fire department. But he has already brought the training and a lot of experience with him. The giant - 1.96 meters tall, shoe size 50 - comes from the Cologne / Bonn region and came to Tegernsee as a trainee at Bachmair-Weissach. In his home country he was active as a fire fighter with respiratory protection training. “And I want to do my voluntary work here too,” says Bernardy. Commander Herzinger is happy about the new addition, who is also a respiratory protection instructor. “We were able to overcome the language barriers,” he smiles. The togetherness helps the new Wiesseer from the Rhineland to feel comfortable in his new place of residence.
“Comradeship is a nice thing,” says Florian Flach. There are currently around 50 active members of the Bad Wiessee fire brigade. “A good number,” says Commander Herzinger. But the team shouldn't be smaller either. Because when the alarm goes off, all 50 are never ready. “You're happy when you can move out at 15,” says Herzinger. So that the active ones do not go out, the Wiesseer Wehr is still looking for new committed people with great commitment, as the commander reports: "We are continuing the action."
