Fire brigade in Lower Saxony: More women for effective missions!

Fire brigade in Lower Saxony: More women for effective missions!

The fire brigade in Lower Saxony faces exciting challenges. At a time when many social framework conditions change, the need for well -prepared and equipped fire brigade associations becomes increasingly clear. Olaf Kapke, the President of the State Fire Brigade Association (LFV) emphasizes that the extraction of new members and the motivation active emergency services are decisive tasks. In 2025, the integration of women as well as newly admitted specialists is at the top of the agenda.

The challenges are diverse: the number of fire departments in Lower Saxony decreases, while the number of active firefighters continuously increases. In 2022, 130,622 active firefighters were first counted, which distinguishes a positive trend. At the same time, the proportion of women, which rose from 10.5 percent in 2013 to 14.2 percent in 2022, has been a gratifying sign. Over 5,400 women are now involved in the fire brigades, as the Feuerwehr-Magazin

growth and trends in Lower Saxony

Despite the increase in members, the fire brigade must react to the falling number of volunteer fire brigades. The number of fire departments has decreased by 4.3 percent since 2013, which means that smaller units are closed. However, these closures lead to stronger, more effective fire locations that create better operating conditions. This could be a chance to optimize the fire engineer and respond to the needs of the population.

Another aspect that increasingly moves into the light are the fast construction speeds for new training centers, modern seminar rooms and exercises. Here, too, Kapke emphasizes the importance of resources that must not be neglected. A targeted expansion of the infrastructure could cause the fire brigade to better meet the current and future requirements.

a strong network for emergency

As important as fire and disaster protection is, about two thirds of all missions are under assistance in the event of accidents and emergency stands. Firefighters in Germany can be reached under emergency number 112. The legal framework is recorded in the respective state laws, and the organization of the fire brigades takes place via city, district and state associations. There are various formats of fire brigades, including the volunteer fire brigade, the professional fire brigade and also work fire brigades.

KAPKE also emphasizes that the progress in forest and vegetation fire fighting as well as in concepts for bog fire and flood protection are gratifying. The number of missions rose by 27 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, and the challenges before us are clear. In view of 451 forest fires last year, the willingness to actively get involved is essential.

Overall, it turns out that Lower Saxony is on the right track, but also faces major challenges. The increase in members, especially women, is a ray of hope, but it remains to be seen how the fire brigade associations will react to the declining number of the individual weirs. The course for 2025 is set, and everyone involved is required to achieve the best for the emergency services and the population together.