Outgoing Deputy Commander Stefan Gerber at the award ceremony of the Silver Medal of Merit by Mayor Bernhard Sontheim (left). Right: Commander Dirk Schiecke, who is currently absent due to illness. © Stefan Schuhbauer-von Jena
First of all, no new equipment shed, club resignations and now also two failures at commander level: The Feldafingen fire brigade is still in crisis. A professional marketing campaign should help in 2024. The Dachau model was thus extremely successful.
Feldafing – First the resignation, then the resignation of the resignation, and now the Feldafing Volunteer Fire Brigade has to replace its two previous commanders – which is likely to be a major challenge in view of the shortage of personnel. Dirk Schiecke, who announced his departure at the end of the year in autumn 2022 after the referendum on the preservation of the council chambers, but had withdrawn this a short time later, is currently absent due to illness. This was reported by Mayor Bernhard Sontheim when asked by the Starnberger Merkur. In addition, Schiecke's deputy, Stefan Gerber, will leave at the end of the month. He moves to the Augsburg area because, unlike Feldafing, he has found a new home for his family of four there. The 40-year-old is thus a prominent example of the problem that firefighters in this country find it difficult to find housing. "I would have liked to stay in Feldafing, but at the prices...", he told Merkur. He plans to rejoin a fire brigade near Augsburg.
To ensure that the Feldafingen is not without a leader from July, the members will elect a new second commander at an extraordinary meeting in the Bürgersaal on Monday, 26 June. If you listen to the club's chairman Florian Stiegler, it becomes clear that talks are underway, but the potential successor to Gerber has not yet been determined. Especially since the selection among the only about 15 active members is relatively small. In the end, there will probably be no competition between two or three candidates, says Stiegler. It's more about convincing someone to take office. Stiegler: "It's also difficult for them because they're thrown in at the deep end." Nevertheless, the fire chief has not lost his optimism that a solution will be found.
In the event of a fire, support comes from the district
In the event of a (major) fire, the people of Feldafingen would not have to worry despite the personnel emergency, as Sontheim and Stiegler say. According to the chairman, the district fire inspectorate has been signaled that the situation is difficult. "For the time being, we are relying on external help." The Feldafingen do not reach the specified minimum thickness of 27 by far. Mayor Sontheim therefore does not speak of operational capability, but he says: "The fire brigade can move out." According to Gerber, as a rule, only four people show up for an assignment during the day during the week – because many do not work in the village or at least close to the location. Another problem.
External help cannot be a permanent solution, which is why the fire brigade, together with the municipality, is currently preparing a major campaign to recruit personnel. The Dachau-based marketing agency Weimer und Paulus is engaged. Their actions brought the Dachau Fire Department 2022 new members for active service and the youth group in 54. Above all, a bet and counter-bet between the mayor and fire chiefs attracted attention. "We will not copy the campaign, but tailor it to Feldafing," says Stiegler. The aim is to define a target group, to motivate alumni again and to appear more strongly in social media. An open day and some public relations work alone were no longer enough to make oneself attractive. Stiegler: "We want to show that it's great to get involved socially and for safety."
Training room will be available again soon
From the point of view of the fire brigade chairman, one must nevertheless sooner or later "think about the composition of the fire brigade". In other words, realize that the task is difficult to accomplish purely through volunteering. But even in the most serious crisis in its 150-year history, there is good news for the fire department: From August, the emergency services and members will again be able to use the upper floor of the fire station for training purposes and debriefings of operations. The woman who has lived there so far moves into a neighboring building.
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