2021 a "very busy year" for the Peißenberg fire brigade - but not because of the operations

Created: 04/13/2022, 02:00 p.m

By: Bernhard Jepsen

New elections were pending at the Peißenberg fire brigade.

The picture shows the management team with the retired Georg Kreutterer (3rd from left): (from left) Kevin Eiskirch, Andreas Bock (both deputy commanders), chairman Robert Pickert, his deputy Stefan Palmberger, secretary Michael Bauer and commander Philipp Reichhart.

© Bernhard Jepsen

The corona pandemic has also slowed down the Peißenberg fire brigade in the past two years.

But with 100 active members, the military is still in good shape.

Peißenberg

– It was a shitty time”: Robert Pickert didn’t even beat around the bush at the annual meeting of the fire brigade association in the equipment house on Ebertstrasse.

The chairman alluded to the pandemic, which had almost brought practice and club life to a standstill at the Peissenberger Wehr.

"That's why my report today is relatively short," Pickert explained to the 67 voting members present.

Even the only social event scheduled for the summer of 2021 was ill-fated.

The vintage car ride had to be canceled - "because the beeper went on," as Pickert reported.

The fire brigade was called to a roof fire in Michelsweg.

It was one of the few major operations that had to be completed by the Peißenberg fire brigade in 2021.

The lockdown phases in particular were reflected in the statistics.

In 2021 there were only 1526 hours of use, in 2020 there were still 1737. For example, security guards at events were completely absent.

Commander Philipp Reichhart reported 29 fire operations, 77 technical assistance lines and four ABC operations.

The latter category also included an outdoor operation: a landowner had dug up his garden with a pickaxe and hit a gas pipe.

"There's nothing that doesn't exist," summarized Reichhart with a grin: "I don't think he digs up his garden so quickly anymore." Reichhart spoke of a "very exhausting year" in relation to 2021.

Not in relation to the stakes,

but with regard to the pandemic regulations, which are constantly being adapted.

Reichhart praised his team's discipline: "No one complained.

We were one of the few fire brigades that always went out with masks.”

New fire engine required

Mayor Frank Zellner also praised the Florian youth.

The emergency services would ensure that the saying "Quick as the fire brigade" is not just an empty phrase.

The municipality, in turn, is responsible for creating the technical requirements.

Among other things, Zellner referred to the fire engine, which is to be purchased in the next few years for around 400,000 euros, and of course to the planned conversion and expansion of the fire station.

In view of the constantly rising construction costs, construction should definitely start before the end of this year: "We should start construction quickly so that we can make it on budget," explained Zellner.

The head of the town hall had previously spoken of 6.1 million euros in construction costs.

At the start of the project planning, it was still 3.5 million euros.

Firefighting is an expensive affair.

For a cash-strapped municipality like Peißenberg, the expenses are not easy to shoulder.

But district fire inspector Markus Deutschenbaur defended the financial outlay in his welcoming speech: The investments would help to prevent high damage in the event of fires and other types of use.

The fire brigade is also increasingly in demand in the area of ​​"disaster control", as the flood in the Ahr valley would have shown, among other things.

Gerold Grimm resigns as district fire chief

Gerold Grimm found very personal words at the end of the meeting.

The Peißenberg fire brigade veteran will resign after 24 years as district fire chief: "I still can't believe that the time has come," Grimm admitted.

Working with him wasn't always easy ("I also have my mistakes"), but he always strived to be "a district fire chief from the middle of the fire brigade" who doesn't know everything better."

Grimm criticized the increasing bureaucracy that would increasingly dominate the fire service: "You shouldn't always just go for it, but ask yourself what really makes sense.

Less is often more.” Thank God there were no serious injuries to firefighters during his tenure, although there were many dangerous missions.

"The fire brigade was and is my life," Grimm explained - and when he said goodbye there was an appeal to his colleagues: "Always remember: We don't do our work for its own sake, but to protect our fellow human beings."