Just back from a walk to our Helsinki Finland village voluntary fire brigade Pitäjänmäen VPK – Sockenbacka FBK. Established 110 years ago in 1908, it used to be connected to the traditional smoke stack industry in this old community. ( 25 September 2019 )
Now times have changed but the fire brigade continues its active service. It is linked to the Helsinki Rescue Department, but works on a voluntary basis.
Like other voluntary fire brigades, ours has at times had difficulties in recruiting new young members. The intervention brigade has worked fine, but youth has been absent. Now finally, a youth group has started under the skilled and enthusiastic leadership of the fire brigade president Henrik Helenius.
Today I saw a small but happy group of young villagers taking their first steps on the road to become an active fire brigade volunteer. This was a really pleasant and positive experience. It is great that there are experienced and skilled people like Henrik who devote their time and energy to these important activities.
And yes, the voluntary fire brigade in Pitäjänmäki – Sockenbacka has a shining red fire engine and a crew bus, and yes they do all kinds of emergencies and community services as well, not only practice sessions.
