Little Kostya holds a fire hose in his hands for the first time. You only have to look into the boy’s eyes to see what that means to him. He can even try spraying with the fire hose – with a little help from a professional. Kostya doesn’t want to let the hose out of her hands. Two days, a total of twenty children – and several firefighters who provide insights into their work. The boys and girls have in common that they fled the war in Ukraine with their families at the beginning of the year – and now go to school in Kirchseeon. On this day, however, they are not sitting in the classroom, but are familiarizing themselves with the fire protection equipment and the fire engines.
On the first day, Russian-speaking Ukrainian children from the open all-day school and three German-speaking 2A pupils visit the Kirchseeon volunteer fire brigade. Under the direction of Michael Bauer, the equipment manager in Kircheeon, they learn what happens in a volunteer fire brigade when things get serious. It all starts with the emergency number 112. The firefighter on the phone will ask a few important questions to find out where to send the fire brigade and what’s going on there, explain the Kirchseeon emergency services. He will ask where the emergency location is, what happened there, how many people are affected or injured and who called or what name is on the front door of the emergency location.
“I would love to drive the fire engine to Ukraine to put out the houses”
If you dare, you can even climb into the fire engine. “It’s pretty high, but the view is great,” says little Iio. Mikola from class D3/4, on the other hand, looks a bit skeptical. She says that seeing the fire engine reminds her of her home in Ukraine. The bomb that fell on her neighbor’s house. To the flames. “I would love to drive to Ukraine in a fire truck to put out the houses that are burning because of the war,” she says.
Mikola at the steering wheel of the Kirchseeon fire truck.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
The next lesson: fire safety education. “Never put out a grease or oil fire with water,” explains the firefighter. Water causes a grease or oil fire to explode and spread. That’s why the firefighters use a fire blanket for this purpose. A fire extinguisher can be used to put out a small fire, but water is recommended for burning paper or furniture. The Kirchseeon firefighters have another important tip for the children: In the event of a fire, they should not hide when they see the firefighters, but instead draw attention to themselves.
When jumping from the second floor, body weight increases eightfold
Now it’s about the jumping mat. It’s about the size of a bouncy castle, four by four meters – although it’s not about fun here, it’s about life and death – and the children listen carefully to what the firefighter says. When a person jumps from the second floor and lands in a jumping sheet, their body weighs about eight times its normal weight at the bottom. For a man who weighs a hundred kilos, it is almost a ton.
David is in class D2, he lives with his mother and grandmother. What he learned and saw here at the fire brigade, he says, “I’ll explain to my mother.” David explains that his mum is deaf and mute – and is therefore particularly at risk in the event of a fire.
The group from the first day at the Kirchseeon volunteer fire brigade.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
On the second day of the children’s workshop, Kirchseeon’s first commander Bernhard Hunscha and fireman Daham Aljaffal take over. It is now about the protective clothing. The boys and girls can just about hold up a fireman’s gear in both hands. “Is that difficult,” whispers a boy. Then all eyes are on the dystopian-looking respirators. They are also allowed to hold an oxygen bottle and quickly realize how much weight a firefighter has to carry during an operation. “The breathing apparatus and the fireman’s jacket are heavier than I thought,” says Daria. She is six years old and has been attending elementary school in Kirchseeon in class D1 for six months. She also works on the fire hose and shows a lot of talent.
Michael Bauer with Daria.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
Fireman Daham Aljaffal works as a nanny at the Awo home for children Baldham. He comes from Syria and, like the Ukrainian children, has a history of escaping, although he has been away for a long time – and it is now more than six years since his escape. Initially in Germany, Aljaffal believed that one had to go through a long period of training in order to be able to learn the profession of firefighter. The possibility of a volunteer fire brigade was new to him. When he saw the German firefighters in his early days, he took a liking to them. He wanted to say thank you to them in some way or to get to know them.
When he learned that all this work was voluntary, he offered his services. He describes his work as “the least he can do for Germany”. He reports how important it is, especially at the beginning, to meticulously follow the instructions of experienced colleagues. He says: “The magic word is repetition.”