Stadtwerke Gießen has been supporting the work of volunteer fire brigades in the region since 2011 with its "Fire brigade of the future" innovation competition. Attractive cash prizes await the winners.
Volunteer fire brigades provide a service to society that cannot be valued highly enough. Their range of tasks extends far beyond extinguishing fires. Strictly speaking, they are nowadays much more often involved in other activities, such as preventive fire protection, accident rescue, technical assistance and environmental protection. This requires highly qualified personnel. And this is precisely what is becoming increasingly scarce in fire services, as in many other voluntary organisations.
This is precisely where the "Fire brigade of the future" innovation competition comes in, which Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) is organising for the ninth time this year in cooperation with the district fire brigade association. "Basically, the 'Fire brigade of the future' competition is about inspiring people - regardless of gender and age - to take up this unusual, varied and extremely interesting hobby and the associated service to others," says Ina Weller, company spokesperson for SWG. The aim is to motivate fire brigades to break new ground when it comes to recruiting members and creating a modern and appealing image.
No restrictions in terms of creativity
This is why SWG and the district fire brigade association are once again calling on the volunteer fire brigades based in the region to submit unusual ideas for the competition. "This year, we are deliberately no longer specifying a theme," explains Michael Klier, Chairman of the district fire brigade association. And Ina Weller adds: "In this way, we want to ensure that as many fire brigades as possible can take part." After all, almost all fire brigades develop ideas and concepts that help them to find fellow campaigners. However, a predetermined topic would leave out all those who have opted for an approach that does not match the specification. "We want to avoid that at all costs," adds Michael Klier. The free format, which has already proven itself in the first five years, naturally also means that all departments of the fire brigades can continue to take part - from the active firefighters to the children's and youth groups as well as the music and marching bands to the honourary departments. The supporting sponsoring organisations can also take part.
There are therefore only three conditions for taking part in the competition: Applicants must submit their proposals to SWG by 30 April 2019. The volunteer fire brigades that are accepted then have until 30 September 2019 to develop their idea into a concrete project. The participants then have until 31 October 2019 to document everything in detail and submit the written documents in the form of an illustrated presentation.
Difficult decision expected
This year, the jury is once again made up of representatives from the press, fire services and SWG. The panel will evaluate the projects and ultimately decide who wins and which fire brigades take second and third place. It's worth getting on the podium: SWG is offering a total of 3000 euros in prize money for the three best projects. The winning fire brigade receives half of this, the runner-up can look forward to 1000 euros and third place is endowed with 500 euros.
"We are expecting a whole range of really good and new ideas again in 2019," explains Michael Klier. "Personally, I'm always amazed at what the fire brigades come up with and I'm sure that we'll have a tough decision to make, as in previous years," predicts Ina Weller.
Registering for the competition is easy: SWG has compiled all the important information and registration documents for the "Fire brigade of the future" competition at www.stadtwerke-giessen.de/innovationspreis.