The Hoogeveen fire brigade runs entirely on volunteers. One of those heroes is Anouk Snippe (23). “You don’t wish a fire on anyone, but when the pager goes off I become very happy.”
Her colleagues at Fokker are now used to it: when Anouk is called up, she has to leave quickly. Work on the fighter jet doors is stopped and the only thing that matters is getting to the barracks within five minutes. The car must leave within eight minutes of the call. “In the beginning they thought it was strange at work that I could just leave. They all sympathize now and want to hear everything from me when I get back.”
Anouk is one of the 42 volunteers active in the Hoogeveen fire brigade. These 42 volunteers are divided into three teams, each with its own team leader. Anouk is one of three women on the entire team. “It’s a shame that there are no more, because with a few more women you get a different dynamic in the group. Perhaps women are less likely to sign up because of the somewhat macho image of the fire brigade. But man or woman, that doesn’t matter to us. As long as you stand your ground. The other day, a girl pointed at me. “Look, Mom, a firefighter,” she said. I like that, to be a kind of role model.”
Through the fire
Three years ago, Anouk signed up as a volunteer. “I saw a call and I was immediately enthusiastic. I like being able to do something for others and I like to get things done.”
Volunteers first receive a two-year training course that consists of weekly lessons in everything involved in fire service work. After that time they can really be used. Anouk can still remember her first outing. “I was quite nervous, but fortunately it was not a serious emergency. I was impressed with how well everyone worked together. Truly a well-oiled machine. I think that solidarity is the most beautiful aspect of the work. That you can trust each other blindly and are willing to go through fire for each other.”
She has not experienced anything really bad, but she knows from colleagues how intense it can be. “After each deployment we discuss how it went, what went well and what could be improved. And if someone has been involved in a serious case, there will be additional contact with that person later. Everyone is well taken care of here. That’s nice.”
Beautiful red beast
Anouk enjoys working for the fire brigade. “It is very varied work. Unpredictable too. When the pager goes off you never know what to expect. I think that’s wonderful. Sometimes you put out a big fire and other times you remove a bird from the tree that has got its leg tangled in something.”
In the future, she would like to be trained as a driver so that she can get behind the wheel of the fire truck herself. “It’s a beautiful red beast. I think it would be great to race on the road with Prio 1, with all the bells and whistles.”
In addition to being a volunteer in the fire brigade, Anouk is also a leader in the youth fire brigade. There, young people aged 12-18 are introduced to the work of the fire brigade. They are taught the basic skills of the trade and practice all kinds of skills in a playful way.
Competitions are also often organized. “The boys and girls are very enthusiastic, which is great to see. The activities of the youth fire brigade are not only fun, but also important. You naturally hope that the members will later move on to the volunteer fire brigade, because there is always a need for new people. New volunteers are more than welcome.”