De Panne trains its own employees to…

The local government started this unique project in 2023, allowing its own employees to combine their existing work with a career as a volunteer in the fire brigade. In the meantime, the first employees of De Panne are also working at the fire brigade. There are three of them, and Dieter Willaert is one of them. He works as a building manager at the municipality of De Panne. After two years of on-the-job training, he is now also a volunteer firefighter. Dieter has already completed about 15 interventions. “For me, that is a perfect combination. I set my own agenda at work. I will make myself unavailable for meetings, which is also necessary. Whenever I can, I am available and at the service of the fire brigade.”