Case Study
"Training as the key to an inclusive fire department" - an interview with a department head and lecturer

Wibke Roth, who is responsible for press and public relations at Kompetenzzentren Selbstbestimmt Lebens NRW (KSL.NRW), conducted an interview with Dirk Meyer from the NRW Fire Service Institute (IdF NRW) about inclusion and participation at the NRW Fire Service as part of the "KSL hinterfragt" series for the "FENSTERBLICK EXTERN" blog.

Personal details:

Dirk Meyer heads the K1 "Internal Leadership, Media Center and Training Management" department at the NRW Fire Service Institute.

IdF NRW:

As the central training and further education facility for fire and disaster protection in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the institute provides training and further education for managers of professional, volunteer and plant fire departments. The offer also includes seminars on breaking down barriers for people with disabilities and promoting their participation in the fire department.

Editor's note:

The IdF NRW has an overview of how the fire departments in NRW are set up and can provide examples of individual fire departments, but less of an overall picture of the North Rhine-Westphalian fire departments. Among other things, it strives to provide the fire departments with a framework for action and recommendations so that these can then be implemented under municipal responsibility and authority.

Wibke Roth:

Thank you very much, Mr Meyer, for taking the time for this interview. Today's topic is the question of how inclusive the fire department in NRW can be and what opportunities there are for people with disabilities to participate. Your perspective as head of the department and your role as a conceptual lecturer are particularly interesting. What makes the fire department and the people who work there special? And from your perspective, where is there still a need for change, particularly in the context of diversity?

Daniel Meyer:

Generally speaking, it's the team spirit that makes the fire department what it is. It means that the firefighters are aware that they can only achieve the goal together as a unit, both during operations and in the periods between operations. That is one unifying aspect. The other is definitely the desire to help other people in crisis and emergency situations, while putting their own interests aside.
Otherwise, the question is: Is the fire department - whether full-time or honorary - a reflection of society? And the answer is: No, because we do not have a representative distribution of men and women in the fire department and no representative distribution of educational levels, professional groups and educational classes. Much is already on the right track. However, if the fire department wants to be future-proof, it must also be open to all population groups, including women, people with disabilities, people with a migration background - in other words, everyone who is interested in the fire department. Our approach to change is: let's focus less on a single target group and instead ask: what can we do to ensure that the fire department represents a cross-section of society in the future?

Wibke Roth:

The cross-section also includes people with disabilities. Among other things, you train fire department managers at the IdF NRW. How important is the topic of inclusion there at the moment and what role does teaching values play in this context?

Daniel Meyer:

Inclusion has been part of our training strategy since 2022: we have organized two specialist symposia on the topic and offer up to three training courses a year in different contexts, for example on the question of how the admission process for new firefighters can be structured. We have been cooperating with KSL.NRW from the very beginning. A key component is a two-hour workshop format that serves to raise awareness of what self-determination means, for example, and how equal, barrier-free communication can succeed, but also specifically what it means to work with people with disabilities in practice in the fire department. Regarding your question about conveying values: We pass on our understanding of values to our participants in the hope that what we teach will make them think, so that what they learn is then put into practice.
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Wibke Roth:

Which of the values you teach is particularly important to you?

Daniel Meyer:

Openness in attitude. If we succeed in living openness as one of the highest values in the fire department culture, the requirements of the respective job descriptions will determine who is eligible to work in the fire department. A missing toilet should not be a reason for exclusion.
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Wibke Roth:

Which areas of work within the fire department do you think are suitable for people with physical, mental or psychological disabilities?

Daniel Meyer:

The Wetter an der Ruhr fire department is a good example of this. As many welfare facilities are located there, the likelihood of people with disabilities joining is simply higher. This simply means that there are more people interested here than elsewhere and there are in fact many examples of how people with disabilities are employed there. We were able to get to know these very practical examples at the 2024 symposium.
I know from there that people who want to work in the fire department enjoy performing their duties. Specifically, the following question was asked during the interview: "What is your motivation for this job?" During the interview, a man with a mental impairment said that he really enjoyed cleaning up. This matched the job description of the position. As a firefighter, for example, he performs exactly this kind of service in his team.
A firefighter with a mental impairment does not sit on the first vehicle to arrive at an emergency. As he would be unnecessarily stressed if he had to fight the fire immediately, the so-called rear service for supply logistics is a good option for him. For people with physical disabilities, this task can be just as useful at the scene.
Of course, it is important to mention that self-assessment and external assessment for the job profile must always match.
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Wibke Roth:

What support would you like from local authorities and politicians?

Daniel Meyer:

I believe that we are well positioned on the one hand because our regulations and laws already allow the necessary freedom at local level. We need to continue to promote acceptance by focusing on training and information events. We don't need any more poster campaigns that advertise to individual target groups; in case of doubt, this can lead to the opposite of what is desired.

Wibke Roth:

What would be your personal vision for an inclusive fire department in the next ten years?

Daniel Meyer:

We won't be able to equip fire engines with a lift for wheelchairs in the future either, because some limits simply arise from the tasks of the fire department. We have to look at people, find out what they can do and allow them to participate in the respective operational scenarios. Openness should be viewed holistically in the fire department. Stereotypical thinking, for example that firefighters can and must do everything themselves, is just as unnecessary as the idea that the fire department is a closed society to which only certain people are allowed access. In ten years' time, it may well be a matter of course for people with disabilities to take on tasks and thus enrich the fire department.

Wibke Roth:

Thank you very much for your openness and your assessments, Mr. Meyer. Your perspective is a valuable contribution to the further discussion of inclusion in the fire department.

Daniel Meyer:

I would also like to thank Ms Benz and Ms Wohlfahrt from KSL.Detmold for their good and trusting cooperation as important initiators for the design of the workshops and Mr Schneider from KSL.Münster with his very personal view of cooperation in the fire department.

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