At the industrial estate in Gieten, eight fire brigades participated in the national fire competitions today.
“The competition is held to test the skills of the people and to give them a challenge,” says Edwin Veldman, chief of the fire station in Gieten.
He is dressed in a t-shirt and sunglasses hang from the collar in the neck. Not exactly a fireman’s outfit. “My role is different today. I am one of the victims.”
The exercise remains secret until the last moment. The corps must first report to the fire station in Gieten and will be told where the exercise is. “The scenario is a fire at a sawmill that spreads upwards through an installation. There is an injured person near the saw and another injured person in the building,” explains Veldman.
It is not made easy for the corps. For example, one of the fire hoses is leaking. Thijn, son of post chief Edwin, thinks the exercise is going well. “They help the victims well and help to stop the fire. They also quickly scale to ‘medium fire’.”
How is it possible that Thijn knows all this so well? From his father of course and he also helps with exercises. It is already certain that he will later join the fire brigade.
For the young spectator Stijn it is certain that he will not become a firefighter. “I’m going to be a Youtuber.” He thinks it’s a bit exciting what those people from the fire brigade do.
The competition is also held to show how much fun the work at the fire brigade is. Because it is a challenge to retain enough people. The fire brigade in Gieten is also diligently looking for new members. “We are looking for people who are in Gieten during the day.”
The shortage in Gieten is not yet acute. “We try to look as far into the future as possible. So if you know that someone will retire in five years, you have to start working on a replacement now. The training also takes another two years,” says Veldman.
Watch the report on the fire drill here: