Germany in need of civil protection volunteers as extreme weather events increase – report

More attractive conditions are needed to make people join civil protection and disaster relief volunteer units as Germany faces more frequent extreme weather events, a report commissioned by the Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) found. While there already is a high number of volunteers involved in civil protection and disaster control (1.76 million people), organisations report a significant increase in personnel requirements due to a rising number in calls for assistance.

Civil defence and disaster control organisations rely heavily on volunteers, with 94 percent of the fire brigade being made up of volunteers and 98 percent of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) consisting of volunteer emergency personnel, the report stated. "We in Germany can rightly be proud of our volunteer-based emergency response system and the numerous helpers who work for us all every day," said BBK president Ralph Tiesler. "However, the framework conditions must be right if civil protection and disaster control are to continue to cope well with growing demands in the future."

Germany is struggling with a lack of skilled workers in many sectors key for climate change mitigation and adaptation. In some parts of northern Germany, municipalities have deployed compulsory fire brigades to ensure fire safety.

Only a third of the organisations surveyed for the report said they had enough members to cope with increased demand. Recommendations to ensure adequate response capabilities in future included better compatibility between professional and voluntary work, better information about volunteering opportunities, and tax exemptions for allowances and expenses incurred while volunteering.

The number deployments for civil protection in Germany has steadily increased over the past few years, partly due to climate change, according to the 2023 monitoring report by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Recent examples include devastating floods in the Ahr Valley in 2021 and forest fires in Saxony in 2022. "As a result, there is a growing need to mobilise new volunteers and retain them in the long term," the report said.