Great turnout on Tuesday at the fire department and disaster control technical center in Fürstenwalde - the Oder-Spree district handed over five vehicles to the municipalities.
For the Oder-Spree fire protection unit, a fire-fighting group vehicle went to the Odervorland office in Berkenbrück and an auxiliary fire-fighting vehicle to Heinersdorf. Half of the vehicles were financed by the municipality, the other half by the Oder-Spree district.
An additional fire-fighting vehicle, a federal vehicle in the fire protection unit and one hundred percent financed by the federal government, went to the municipality of Tauche in Lindenberg.
Another federal vehicle represented in the hazardous materials unit, also fully financed by the federal government, went to Fürstenwalde: the so-called CBRN reconnaissance vehicle is suitable for detecting, measuring and reporting radioactive sources and chemical hazards as well as marking and monitoring contaminated areas.
In order to implement the district's concept for supra-local fire protection and supra-local assistance, the fifth vehicle, a command vehicle, went to Erkner. The costs are shared between the municipality and the district.
In addition to District Administrator Frank Steffen, Member of Parliament Mathias Papendieck, Head of Department Michael Buhrke and Melanie Krogull, Head of the Office for Civil, Fire and Disaster Protection, the main administrative officials from Odervorland, Erkner, Tauche and Martina Banse-Hörnigk as representative of the city of Fürstenwalde with their fire department leaders and numerous firefighters attended the handover ceremony.
Member of the Bundestag Mathias Papendieck was moved: "I'm seeing firefighters here who are getting a vehicle for their station for the first time in their firefighting lives. This is an emotional and special moment for many of them, because on average a new vehicle is only bought every thirty years. This commitment and enthusiasm is great to see."
Department Head Michael Buhrke thanked all those involved for their commitment and cooperation in the district: "You are not doing all this for yourselves, but for the citizens of our Oder-Spree district. You can't say thank you often enough for that."