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Wangerooge (dpa / lni) - On the North Sea island of Wangerooge, mandatory fire service is off the table for the time being, but the training of new volunteers is lagging behind due to the corona pandemic.
Over the course of the year, 16 volunteers joined, said Mayor Marcel Fangohr (non-party).
«We are now at least 40 people.
That is good in strength. "
He himself has also volunteered for the island fire department.
According to the law, municipalities can oblige adults to do fire service if fire protection is no longer guaranteed with volunteers.
The municipal council on Wangerooge had voted for a commitment in December 2019 because the number threatened to drop to the minimum of 23 active members.
This would have created the first compulsory fire brigade in Lower Saxony, but then enough citizens volunteered.
The training of the volunteers should have taken place in April, but was postponed because of the corona pandemic, said Fangohr.
The alternative date was November, "then came the second lockdown".
The necessary strength of two fire engines was secured on Wangerooge.
The volunteers have already helped with missions that do not require full training, such as carrying sick people.
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Because of Corona, the Ministry of the Interior has extended the otherwise applicable deadlines for the training of volunteer firefighters, said Olaf Rebmann, spokesman for the Lower Saxony State Fire Brigade Association.
The Wangerooge case is special because of its island location.
If there is a temporary lack of emergency services on the mainland of a fire brigade, this can be more easily compensated for by neighboring brigades.
According to his preliminary assessment, there was less of a fire in 2020, when people sat a lot at home.
Ordinance on municipal fire brigades