Volunteering is work that is priceless. With 94,000 members, the fire service in Upper Austria is a bastion of helpfulness. Still, although the requirements have changed considerably over the past two decades. The challenges for members and especially for officials are increasing. 2.7 million hours of voluntary work were done in the previous year, and this year the results are similar. Whether during the storm operations in June, the forest fire in the Rax area or the ongoing management of corona logistics: the men and women are there when you need them.
The pressure is steadily increasing
For many, the individual contribution to the general well-being is an indispensable part of a meaningful life, but the demands on the individual increase. The fact that the system is voluntary does not justify any compromise on quality. Not least because of this, the state fire brigade association tries to get professional volunteer management.
Brand councilor Markus Voglhuber is responsible for this: “An essential core topic is the motivation of the members. On the one hand there is the” normal “member. There is an essential motivation criterion for doing things together,” says Voglhuber. “In principle, work cannot be so difficult or dirty that it does not weld together,” says the experienced fire service officer. The second level concerns the managers, and this is where the game gets a little trickier: “We need managers for our more than 900 departments. We must not lose sight of our core tasks – these are our assignments, training, youth work and a lot more that keeps the system running, “says Voglhuber.
You have to be careful now that the time to raise funds does not get out of hand. Voglhuber recalls the very clear division of tasks: “The financing of the fire fighting system is the responsibility of the municipality and the state. That is very clearly regulated.” It cannot be that those who are already working for free always raise more funds to finance their equipment. “We hear this criticism from our executives more and more often. That occupies our treasurers and commanders enormously.”
Shaping together
Clearly there are many churches in which we work very well together. “We don’t want to leave this common path, but we also have to insist not to overheat the system,” says the volunteer manager. Having to raise more and more money in order to be able to finance operational resources, for example, is simply the wrong way to go.
Secure for the future
Ensuring a nationwide fire service on a voluntary basis is the essential task for the future: to make people aware and to keep them conscious that for their safety people put their private activities on hold at any time of the day or night and often put themselves in danger for others go – everything from personal and common drive, from enthusiasm and with emotion. The future challenge is to secure this emotion, the camaraderie as a driving force and the framework conditions for it.
Source: Nachrichten
