Torgau (dpa/sn) – Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer praised the action against the devastating forest fires in Saxony in the summer as a great community effort. “We have a lot of respect and recognition for your performance and your commitment to the Free State of Saxony,” said the CDU politician on Friday evening at a thank you event in Torgau. “That is anything but a matter of course.” The men and women in Gohrischheide, the municipality of Arzberg and Saxon Switzerland tackled this task with “an incredible passion” and great expertise, the head of government thanked the fire brigade, technical relief agency, police and federal police, armed forces and the “white services” of the DRK to Johanniter. People stuck together in this “national catastrophe”.
20 helpers were awarded the Forest Fire Medal 2022, which Kretschmer donated after the fires in the north and east of the country in July and August. This is to say thank you to the women and men who helped to the point of exhaustion to prevent worse from happening. The medal can be awarded to helpers from Germany and abroad who have completed at least one full-day assignment. So far, it has been given to a total of 38 people – in mid-September there was a first thank-you event at Königstein Fortress (Saxon Switzerland).
