Verna Volunteer Fire Department: 100 years of serving the community!

Verna Volunteer Fire Department: 100 years of serving the community!

The Verna Volunteer Fire Department can look back on a proud century of volunteer commitment. On June 14, 2025, the fire department celebrated its 100th anniversary as part of the community fire department festival, with a special highlight: District President Mark Weinmeister presented the plaque of honor from the state of Hesse. This award recognizes the unparalleled commitment of firefighters who have tirelessly fought for the safety of citizens since its founding in 1924 with 28 members. The Verna fire department now has around 280 members, including an active youth fire department since 1977 and a children's fire department since 2001 with a total of 35 active little firefighters.

Mayor Jens Nöll, who was present at the celebration, emphasized the immense appreciation shown to the fire department for their constant efforts. In addition to him, fire chief Martin Bipper, club chairman Pascal Wagner, district administrator Winfried Becker, district fire brigade association chairman Michael Becker and community fire inspector Christian Nill were also present. The plaque of honor is not only of great importance for the anniversaries of the volunteer fire departments; It is also awarded to professional fire departments and fire service support associations that have made particularly outstanding contributions. This plaque is awarded on the occasion of anniversaries over 100 years old, with retroactive effect to events from January 1, 2012, such as feuerwehr.hessen.de explained.

Investments in fire and disaster protection

The Hessian state government not only shows recognition for the firefighters' commitment through the badge of honor, but also invests heavily in equipping the fire departments. Last year, around 20 million euros went into 145 vehicle purchases and 85 construction projects. In the last ten years, a total of over 206 million euros have been invested in fire and disaster protection. An estimated 69 million euros are planned for 2025, of which 25 million euros are earmarked for new vehicles and structural measures.

A special innovation is the introduction of a state procurement campaign for emergency control vehicles (ELW 1), which is intended to provide additional support to the fire departments. Such investments are of enormous importance in order to keep the emergency services up to date and to ensure their important work.

A new unity is created

Another important step will take place on January 1, 2025: The operations department of the Verna fire department will then be merged with the Allendorf fire department to form a new unit called Verna/Allendorf. This measure is intended to further increase the efficiency and operational readiness of the local fire departments and thus offer citizens even better safety.

As the Verna Fire Department's 100th anniversary event impressively demonstrated, these dedicated firefighters not only join forces to put out fires, but they also stand together as a community that looks back on a rich history and is energetic about the future. nh24.de reports how important it is to maintain these traditions while at the same time breaking new ground. The combination of history and innovation is crucial in order to be well prepared for the future.