Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – Many managers in the volunteer fire brigades in Saxony-Anhalt do not have the necessary qualifications. A total of 232 volunteers are currently performing the function of military commander without having the legal career requirements, according to a response from the state government to a small query from the SPD parliamentary group in the state parliament. 98 of them had already performed the function for more than two years.
In the past two years, due to the pandemic, teaching at the Institute for Fire and Disaster Management (IBK) Heyrothsberge has been temporarily suspended, the state government said. After that, the number of participants was reduced in order to ensure protection against corona infection in the classrooms. “Both of these led to an increase in the need for training in the training of managers in voluntary fire brigades,” it is now said.
However, management functions may be exercised for a limited period if the employees have completed the training for the previous management function. Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, this option was extended until the end of 2022, the state government said.
“The course cancellations during the corona pandemic may have exacerbated the problem, but the causes lie in the far too few course places at the IBK,” said Rüdiger Erben, spokesman for domestic policy for the SPD parliamentary group. It is about the tools for every military commander in Saxony-Anhalt.
