Gymnast fire brigade
As Turner firefighters are in the 19th century, in addition to rescue companies and vigilante groups that are precursors of fire brigades called.
history
In the 1830s, as a result of the political developments at the time, gymnastics clubs were established in many places. Initially unorganized, later under the umbrella of the German Gymnastics Federation or the German Gymnastics Association . These never saw themselves as just a sporting organization, but always had a political-bourgeois-national component, which u. a. aspired to the ideal of (German) unity.
From the 1840s onwards, parts of the members of the gymnastics clubs practiced climbing ladders and using fire engines . A regular practice ministry developed from these exercises. These regular exercises were the main difference to the cooperative extinguishing services that existed at that time , which were mostly untrained and only used in the event of a fire. In many places in Germany, gymnast fire brigades had a decisive influence on the establishment and development of fire brigades as such or were the only alternative to cooperative fire fighting for a long time.
So-called Steiger or "Steiger and Rescue Companies" from the gymnastics clubs joined the fire brigades or this sub-area was taken over as a gymnast fire brigade in the cooperative extinguishing services or fire brigades that already existed at the time. The founding dates of earlier gymnast fire brigades around 1840 are difficult to understand because the gymnastics clubs are usually older than the fire brigades and a transition has rarely been documented.
The city councilors of Cottbus decided on October 22nd, 1862 the establishment of a voluntary gymnast fire brigade, which was founded on February 16th, 1863. The volunteer gymnastics fire brigade in Cottbus called in 1877 to found a fire brigade association in the province of Brandenburg . As a result, the "Association of Voluntary Fire Brigades of the Province of Brandenburg" was founded on June 4, 1877 in Cottbus.
On August 13, 1864, the voluntary gymnast fire brigade of the city of Torgau was founded after a meeting of the gymnastics club at which the constitution of the voluntary fire extinguishing and rescue company of Torgau was passed.
In October 1864, the police authorities applied to the municipality of Neuruppin for the purchase of fire fighting equipment. Originally, paid craftsmen were supposed to take over the operation and the extinguishing action, which the city council considered inadequate. The magistrate suggested that fire fighting operations be carried out by volunteers. On August 6, 1867, 30 gymnasts were found who founded a volunteer gymnast fire department.
The forerunner of the Jever volunteer fire brigade was, for example, the "Voluntary Turner Fire Brigade" of the Jever men's gymnastics club in 1882.
literature
- Rolf Schamberger: "One for All - All for One". 150 years of the German Fire Brigade Association . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-17-018108-4
- Handbook on fire service history Focus: Province of Saxony, Anhalt, Saxony-Anhalt, State Fire Service Association Saxony-Anhalt, specialist working group fire service history