From an early age, I was interested in firefighting and in literature, audiobooks and films about earthquake disasters and the sinking of the Titanic. During my time in the youth fire brigade, I became increasingly enthusiastic about books on chemistry, physics, mathematics in firefighting and fire investigation. These books led me to specialist chemistry literature at a relatively early age. Experiments during my youth were naturally also part of this. To this day, the combination of scientific and technical questions and organising assistance for people remains a highly motivating task for me.

After completing my apprenticeship as an industrial electronics technician, studying chemistry and starting my career as a chemical engineer in paint development, I completed a fire service career training programme at the Fire Service Institute in Münster. Following this training, I joined the Bundeswehr Fire Service’s Centre for Fire Protection as a department head. My responsibilities included managing the Information and Communications and Regulations departments. During this time, I was responsible, among other things, for refugee-related matters, developing a cleaning concept for systems contaminated with fluorine-containing firefighting foams, and introducing digital radio communications in the Bundeswehr Fire Service. In 2018, I moved to the Saxony State Fire and Civil Protection School as Head of Training, and have been its director since 2019—a role which continues to give me great pleasure.

At the age of 10, I had a strong desire to become a firefighter initially and then, quite early on, a fire chief. Despite my terrible school grades at the time, I asked myself: What do I need to do to become a fire chief? This question stayed with me until I reached my current position.

I am Head of a state fire and civil protection school and am therefore responsible for the training of, among others, managers in volunteer fire services, professional fire services, members of administrative staffs and civil protection units—in short, those involved in civil protection. I see my most important task as optimising the processes at the state fire and civil protection school and motivating and developing the team.

You should have a good scientific education. Vocational training in a skilled trade or technical profession is not essential, but it does make day-to-day collaboration with practitioners easier. You should be actively involved in voluntary work in order to gain experience that will significantly improve your understanding of volunteering. It is also important that you enjoy seeing yourself and feeling like a team player.

A typical working day looks like this: First, I briefly check my emails and inbox, followed by a review of the day’s upcoming appointments and future commitments. There are often smaller and larger coordination meetings within the organisation. Alongside these, there are conceptual tasks, such as organisational development (optimising processes and continually developing how we work together). Everyday life is characterised by a very high degree of flexibility, as I also make time for ad hoc questions from employees and customers. Through committee work at national level, we help shape the professional field. I am in close contact with school principals from the other federal states. There is also professional cooperation with the State Fire Brigade Association, district fire chiefs, the heads of professional fire services in Saxony and the Ministry of the Interior.

I am passionate about contributing significantly to the safety of the people of the Free State of Saxony and, through committee work, to important initiatives nationwide. I am passionate about taking responsibility in support of a good cause. However, shouldering responsibility also means taking the risk of making mistakes. The particular challenge in my day-to-day work is constantly prioritising tasks while also maintaining a good working relationship within the team across the entire department.

You can apply for career training as a fire service trainee with a Master’s degree. Positions are advertised by the state administration, district administrations, professional fire services or state fire service schools. As part of the training, you will take the examination to become a fire service assessor after two years. Further details are governed by Regulation VAP2.2-FEU. Afterwards, opportunities are open to you up to and including becoming a State Fire Service Director, head of a fire service school, district fire service inspector, head of a professional fire service, etc.