Walter Aichinger remained stubborn. On June 23 of this year, the President of the Red Cross in Upper Austria called for a “self-organized volunteer council supported by the state” at the round table on the Volunteer Manifesto in the Promenaden Galleries. Since Wednesday evening he has been its chairman for the next two years.
Representatives of the mountain rescue, the Samaritans, the Red Cross, the civil protection association, the water and cave rescue and the fire brigade came together in Linz’s Körnerstrasse to join forces for the future. The official founding was also accompanied by Governor Thomas Stelzer (VP). Because it was he who announced in the summer that many points from the manifesto that the voluntary organizations had formulated together with the OÖN would be implemented.
There are already concrete results: From November, a service point for volunteers will be occupied by the state of Upper Austria, and the person responsible will also take part in the volunteer council in the future. In the first half of 2023, a volunteer report for Upper Austria will be arranged and the volunteer day, which will take place again in Linz next year, will be expanded to include four regional volunteer days in the districts.
Forest Fires and Mines
The state is already in advanced talks with the Chamber of Commerce to support companies that are open to volunteers.
At this point, Aichinger intervened: “A normal award is probably of little help. You have to work together with the economy to think about what is really expedient,” he says. The volunteer report should also be discussed with the newly founded council before it is drawn up. The council is now to meet twice a year, and one of the main topics will be structure and administration in the voluntary sector.
At the founding date, however, the volunteers already had very specific concerns. Because for Christoph Preimesberger, head of the mountain rescue service, there is currently a déjà vu: Last year, the mountain rescue service was left with the costs of large-scale forest fire operations in the Höllengebirge mountains. The Supreme Court (OGH) refused compensation, the country jumped in. “Now we are again faced with the fact that we have to offset two forest fires in Ebensee and Grünau. The Ministry of Agriculture does not feel responsible, now we will probably meet again in front of the OGH. Something needs to be adjusted,” he says.
Gerald Berger’s forehead is also currently adorned with worry lines. Funding for water rescue, which he heads, is currently being reviewed by the state. “Of course we have financial reserves in 23 local offices. Many of these are donations. Now we have been told that the funding may be different if we have such sums anyway. That’s not particularly motivating.” A topic that could also occupy the Council at the next meeting.
Source: Nachrichten
