When there’s a fire, they’re on the spot – the comrades from the Kirchberg fire brigade section. This includes Hofstetten-Grünau, Rabenstein, Tradigist, Kirchberg, Loich, Schwarzenbach, Frankenfels and Weißenburg. Together they took stock of the year 2022 at the section fire brigade day in Rabenstein. There was enough to do: 379 operations required deployments with 2,604 members and 5,951 hours worked.
“There were a little less firefighting,” stated section commander Andreas Ganaus in his speech. During these operations, there are more forest and field fires, which are favored by the drought. In March, the fire brigades had to cope with a forest fire on the Sonnberg in Frankenfels because damaged wood was burned. According to district fire chief Georg Schröder, this operation was not only an example of the “excellent training and great motivation” of the Floriani, but also proof “that hand-in-hand works very well.” In 2022 there were 39 fire operations, 319 technical operations, 15 fire safety guards and six false alarms.
In addition, Ganaus raised concerns that the fire brigades are not spared from the inflationary wave. The increase in prices is particularly noticeable when purchasing equipment. Therefore, the fire brigade not only has to raise more equity, but also the support of the communities and the population is becoming more important.
The eight fire brigades currently have a total of 570 members. Last year 24 new ones joined. 61 boys and girls are involved in the youth fire brigade. In addition, the teams can fall back on 46 vehicles in the section.
At the meeting, numerous deserving members were brought in front of the curtain:
- 60 years: Wilhelm Ertl (Hofstetten), Franz Kaltofen (Hofstetten), Karl Moser (Kirchberg), Otto Buder (Rabenstein)
- 50 years: Karl Hochfilzer (Frankenfels), Gottfried Lechner (Rabenstein)
- 40 years: Engelbert Umgeher (Tradigist), Herbert Singer (Tradigist), Karl Enne (Rabenstein)
- 25 years: Daniel Haeusler (Frankenfels), Franz Dirnbacher (Kirchberg)
- Merit Badge in Silver: Jochen Lang (Kirchberg)
- Merit Badge in Bronze: Manfred Spendlhofer (post commander in Rabenstein)
