Fürstenfeldbruck - The Bundestag member Katrin Staffler (CSU) had invited the THW in Bruck to an exchange of ideas and opinions on the problems of the so-called blue light organizations.
With Stephan Mayer, State Secretary of the Federal Minister of the Interior, for Building and Home Affairs, the renewed direct candidate of the CSU had brought a competent interlocutor with her to the Bundestag elections on September 26th.
The interlocutors of the two MPs included Dachau district fire chief Franz Bründler, the head of the Brucker THW, Philipp Donath, as well as the Brucker BRK district manager Rainer Bertram.
"I think the topic of disaster control is more topical than ever," said Staffler, referring to the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Civil protection and disaster control are more important than ever, said Mayer, who was President of the THW Federal Association from 2010 to 2018. In the past few years there has been a significant increase in severe weather disasters, which have made a special demands on civil protection and disaster control. There are 668 THW local associations nationwide, 650 of which have been in action and have worked around 1.5 million hours in the past few months. "It was one of the largest efforts in the history of the THW," said Mayer.
“The great pillar of our disaster control is volunteering.
There are 1.8 million people in Germany who are committed to civil protection and disaster protection.
You are the heart.
There is no comparable in any other country on our globe. ”In addition, there are 1.1 million volunteer firefighters and around 600,000 people in five other aid organizations such as the Red Cross, Maltese, Johanniter, Arbeiter-Samariterbund and the German Lifesaving Society.
Much improvements have been made in recent years, such as the extension of the time off for volunteer helpers or the extended cost waiver for missions in the context of administrative assistance.
In addition, a procurement program for vehicles amounting to 100 million was launched, as well as a property program.
Mayer is skeptical about the planned shift of competencies from the municipalities to the federal government
Mayer is skeptical about the planned transfer of competencies from the municipalities to the federal government, which the President of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK), Armin Schuster, is aiming for.
A redistribution will not improve it, said Mayer.
Rather, Mayer takes the view that you can coordinate even better in the case of transnational damage situations.
However, the coordination of the BBK should be strengthened.
In no way is it acceptable to verbally or physically attack helpers while they are doing their job. “Anyone who attacks, spits on or maltreats a helper, a police officer or a firefighter is attacking our society. I expect a clear stance and support from our politicians. The criminal law was changed, but the repression is one thing, but it shouldn't get that far. "
Despite the well-established disaster control in Germany, there is still a lot of room for improvement. That came about when the experts from the blue light organizations had their say. From missing staff frame exercises, missing compatible IT systems, different management structures in the various federal states to the distribution of new vehicles, protective clothing and equipment. But one should also give more thought to the relief of the emergency services and their safety. The responsibilities between the federal, state and local governments also pose a problem, in particular the different financial resources available. The so-called "white organizations" such as BRK, Johanniter and Malteser finance themselves exclusively through donations,the technical relief organization is a federal institution, and the municipality is responsible for the fire brigade.
Dieter Metzler