Der Einsatzleben-Podcast · Hermann Zengeler

Freiwillige Feuerwehr Münster feiert 100-jähriges Bestehen - Interviewfolge

·51 min·4 clips

Jürgen Freund says fire brigade work 'grounded' him profoundly and that the feeling of rescuing someone from a burning building is indescribable.

1. The Einsatzleben podcast, episode 281, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Freiwillige Feuerwehr Kelkheim-Münster, founded on 27 October 1924. 2. Host Hermann conducts all interviews; guests are Peter König (honorary member since 1970), Jasmin Leupert (career changer, 10 years active), Katrin Hauf (42, multigenerational fire family), Jürgen 'Joschi' Freund (51-year veteran, former Stadtbrandinspektor), Stefan Kunig (current Stadtbrandinspektor and festival chair), and Patrick Seng (Wehrführer since 2021, age 30). 3. The episode's central question is what it means for a volunteer fire station to exist and function for 100 years and how that service shapes the people involved. 4. Hermann opens by calculating that the station has provided 38,000 operational hours and 120,000 training hours, equivalent to approximately €4 million in personnel savings for the municipality at €25 per hour. 5. The station was founded by 35 men on 27 October 1924 at the Gasthof Nassauer in Münster; in 1938, Hornau, Kelkheim, and Münster were merged, creating the Kelkheim-Münster unit. 6. Peter König, who has been in the fire service since 1957 (starting in Staufen im Breisgau), joined the Münster unit in 1970, giving him 54 years with the current station after 50 years total, a combined tenure described as 'wahnsinn.' 7. König recalls the Großbrand at the Tischmann firm as one of his most memorable Münster incidents, and describes serving 40 years on the club committee with his wife organising trips to the Nordsee, Schwarzwald, and Bayerischer Wald every two years. 8. Jasmin Leupert, 40, joined as a career changer in 2014 while a single parent, seeking 'Me-Time,' and has been active for ten years, noting the fire brigade was already part of her extended family through a grandfather and cousins. 9. Leupert notes that women nationally represent only 9.2% of volunteer firefighters and argues that perception outside fire brigades still lags, while inside her own station equality is entirely taken for granted. 10. She describes holding the Atemschutzgeräteträger qualification and filling all assigned roles, noting that asking colleagues for help when something is physically too heavy is a practice shared equally by men and women. 11. Katrin Hauf, 42, describes growing up in a family where her father, aunt, uncle, cousins, and husband are all in the fire service, meaning family gatherings double as committee meetings; she met her husband in the youth fire brigade at age 13, where she played Mary and he played a shepherd in the Christmas nativity. 12. Hauf reflects that fire brigade membership changes how she perceives the city: streets and houses now carry memories of incidents, making her more thoughtful about life's fragility. 13. Jürgen Freund, known as 'Joschi,' entered the fire service in 1972 at age 12, served 51 years, held roles including deputy Wehrführer, Wehrführer, deputy Stadtbrandinspektor, and Stadtbrandinspektor across six district stations and 220 firefighters. 14. Freund recalls the 75th anniversary Zapfenstreich at Kirschplatz as one of the most emotional evenings he experienced: the full company marched out together, hats were thrown simultaneously in the air, and everyone fell into each other's arms. 15. He argues that fire brigade work grounded him profoundly because witnessing how lives can change in fractions of a second gives perspective that is hard to find elsewhere, and that the indescribable happiness of rescuing someone from a car or a burning building is a key intrinsic motivator. 16. Freund observes that modern fire service carries far more administrative and documentation requirements than the past, but that the core need to inspire your team to run into a burning building remains unchanged. 17. Stefan Kunig, current Stadtbrandinspektor for three years overseeing six station districts and 220 firefighters, describes a two-weekend centenary festival: the main weekend includes a vehicle showcase, a live fire extinguishing demonstration, a dive-team display, and a Frühschoppen; a second weekend features a church service, Fahnenweihe, and Zapfenstreich. 18. Patrick Seng, 30, became Wehrführer and club chairman at age 27 in February 2021; he describes a 2019 fatal motorcycle accident he attended as his third such incident and states it permanently ended his plans to get a motorcycle licence. 19. The episode has a warm, conversational interview format with frequent laughter and reminiscing, conducted as a live multi-interview session at the anniversary event, mixing German with occasional English code-switching by Leupert. 20. Well-suited to current and former volunteer fire service members and German listeners interested in community service culture; less accessible to non-German speakers or listeners unfamiliar with the German Feuerwehr system.

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