Fire brigade: Young people are also fighting with motivation

They are the helpers of tomorrow: the next generation of firefighters. At the state fire brigade youth competition, which is taking place at the same time as the state fire brigade competition in Aspach, he shows what the youngsters have already learned. For two days, on Friday, July 7th and Saturday, July 8th, more than 15,000 young and experienced competitors will demonstrate their skills. The youngsters are looking forward to the competitions at least as much as the active ones. More than 80 youth groups from the district alone are taking part, and around 600 are expected from across the country. Erwin Dürnberger knows exactly what to look out for: He will not only be one of the main judges in the competition, but has also been the district youth officer since 2014.

The number of young firefighters increased

1,158 young people from the Braunau district are currently members of a fire brigade, and youth work is a top priority: “We have a lot of visitors, from last year to this year we had an increase of eleven percent, that’s very strong,” he says with satisfaction. Almost every fire department in the Braunau district has a youth group or relies on youth work. The fire department has established itself.

And what do the youth groups have to do during the competition? Lots! As with the active players, a simulated firefighting attack must be shown. Top teams do this in around 50 seconds. Not only speed and knowledge are required, but also skill and endurance. Anyone between the ages of nine and 16 can take part, younger people get more starting points. But fighting is always done as a team. An overview:

Group Commander: He gives the order to attack, makes the announcements for the judges and stops the time at the end.

water squad: Must run an obstacle course and do the spraying process. The members have two bucket sprayers with which they have to get five liters through the hole in the bulkhead. Then it’s time to correctly assign the devices to a rack.

Hose Squad: Has the task of bringing a C-line with four 15-meter hoses over an obstacle course and laying the hose line correctly and without twists.

relay race: Second part, a 400-meter relay race, in which tasks and obstacles must also be mastered.