A TALE OF TWO
FIRE DEPARTMENTS
By Reine Bethany
W
alldorf, Germany, may seem far from Freeport, but it is close to the hearts of every Freeport firefighter. Each spring, a delegation of Walldorf’s Freiwillige Feuerwehr (volunteer fire department) travels to Freeport to attend the Freeport Fire Department installation ceremony. Each autumn, Mayor Robert Kennedy and a delegation of about 60 Freeport Fire Department volunteers travel to Walldorf to celebrate occasions like Walldorf’s 1,250th anniversary. But the core of the interchange, says former fire chief Don Rowan, is learning about each other’s firefighting lives. “In Germany, they operate a lot differently than we operate in the U.S.,” Rowan says, “so firefighters get wrapped up looking at each other’s equipment.” Walldorf’s ancient streets are narrow. Fire trucks are compact, and equipped mostly for dousing LIVING IN FREEPORT - 2022-2023
fires in cement buildings, the main construction material for all new buildings after World War II. Fire doesn’t travel through concrete walls the way it travels through the wood interiors of walls in the United States, so Walldorf firefighters mainly use extinguishers. But they also defuse bombs, which they still find occasionally, left over from World War II. Whether Walldorf comes to Freeport or vice versa, the firefighters are in constant action, riding along on each other’s trucks to fight fires or handle other emergencies. They stay in touch throughout the year, coordinating on fundraising efforts to assist families in need. The bond between the two fire departments has existed for more than half a century. Courtesy Ray Maguire
Above photo: Fire Department Executive Director Ray Maguire, holding a microphone, presented a plaque on behalf of Mayor Robert Kennedy to the city of Walldorf, Germany.
17
www.liherald.com
