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Welcome to the Waldtrudering Volunteer Fire
Dept. website
Dear visitor, thank you for spending
some time on our site. We have put together some basic information
about us and our activities on this page. Should you wish
for more specific information, do not hesitate to send us
a mail.
We belong to the Munich Volunteer Fire
Department, which exists as a complement to the Professional
Fire Service (Berufsfeuerwehr). There are currently 21 such
departments located mainly in the outskirts of the city.
All 37 of us consist of volunteers from
all kinds of walks of life with one common passion, firefighting.
As mentioned above, we work hand in hand on par with full-time
professionals. We are called both for local incidents and
for larger, city-wide emergencies such as floodings or large
fires. In 2002, we even helped out with the widespread floodings
in Saxonia. At present, we average 50 calls per year.
Our firefighters go through intensive basic
and extended training, ranging from firefigthing to dealing
with hazardous materials. As such, we are able to tackle almost
every conceivable emergency.
Active duty starts from the age of 14 with participation in
the Youth Fire Department. Full emergency duty starts with the
age of 16. Untipically for Germany, the Munich Volunteer Fire
Department requires all members at the age of 18 and above to
be trained in the use of autonomous breathing apparatus.
We are supported by a charitable organisation which pools
contributors from our area. The main goal is to maintain the
local community and contact to local residents, a task made
difficult by anonymous modern urban living. Also, the organisation
helps us acquire needed apparel which is not standard issue,
such as specialised water pumps, a defibrillator or a fan
for smoke removal.
It remains to be said that Volunteer
Fire Departments in Germany have historically played a very
important role in the community. There are currently 1.3m
such volunteers, providing safety and protection throughout
the country. Professionals are constrained to cities and corporate
fire departments, for example in refineries.
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