Fire department training starts in Jena

The six-month basic training course for the intermediate fire department at the Jena professional fire department began today at the southern fire station in Göschwitz. The 15 trainees were welcomed by department head Benjamin Koppe and head of department Peter Schörnig. This course is the first stage of the two-year training course for the career path to fire chief or fire inspector. Six participants are trainees from the city of Jena, nine come from other departments - including four from Berlin. Two female firefighters are also taking part for the first time.

As every year, the young people now face around 1,000 hours of theoretical and practical training. This includes basics such as mathematics, law and equipment as well as firefighting, vehicle technology, technical assistance and a training camp. In the sports and swimming lessons, but also in the practical training, the comrades have to push themselves to their limits.

The responsible department head Benjamin Koppe is very satisfied with the development of the Jena training location: "Word is spreading quickly about the good conditions in Jena. Our training grounds on the TEAG site have been reorganized and offer the best training conditions - including car wrecks for emergency exercises. Our experienced instructors from the Jena professional fire department are also being supported this year by a federal volunteer," says Koppe.

"The importance of training in the critical infrastructure sector, which includes the professional fire department, is constantly increasing, especially in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine crisis. As a city, we have also made further progress in establishing supra-regional training standards in recent months, together with the cities of Gera and Erfurt. The training alliance we have been working towards for three years is about to be founded. The main focus here is on synergy effects, only having to purchase equipment once or, as a local authority, concentrating on specialist areas during training and thus also making it easier to maintain trainer qualifications," concluded the head of department.