On Monday, October 15, a ceremonial assembly took place in the square next to the District Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bolesławiec. During the ceremony, uniformed officers from Bolesławiec County received new equipment:
- firefighters from the District Headquarters of the State Fire Service: two breathing apparatus sets with four composite cylinders; value: PLN 16,000. The equipment was purchased with funds from the City of Bolesławiec
- firefighters from the Trzebień Volunteer Fire Department: a six-person rescue boat with equipment. Value: PLN 60,000. The boat was purchased with funds from: Gmina Bolesławiec (PLN 30,000), the National Rescue and Firefighting System and the Chief Commander of the State Fire Service.
Moreover, on that day, volunteer firefighters from Warta Bolesławiecka were trained in the operation and use of a hydraulic rescue tool set. For formal reasons, the firefighters from Warta will receive such equipment at the turn of October and November. The set is worth PLN 70,000. The money comes from the National Rescue and Firefighting System, the budget of Gmina Warta Bolesławiecka and the Chief Commander of the State Fire Service.
“On behalf of myself, the firefighters and the people we will help, I thank the mayors and the president for recognizing the funding needs of fire protection units,” said during the ceremony junior brigadier Andrzej Śliwowski, head of the District Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bolesławiec.
Andrzej Dutkowski, head of Gmina Bolesławiec
We must invest in the safety of residents. Neither State Fire Service officers nor Volunteer Fire Department units in Gmina Bolesławiec—or in other municipalities—are able to provide an adequate level of safety on their own. For years, we have worked together with firefighters so that the residents of our county, municipality and villages feel safe.
The head of Gmina Warta Bolesławiecka, Mirosław Haniszewski, stressed that without its Volunteer Fire Departments, the local government feels like an “invalid without an arm.” “The mayor sometimes sleeps peacefully while volunteer firefighters work hard,” the local government official said. He added: “We have always helped, and as a local government we will always help and support the Volunteer and State Fire Services.”
President of Bolesławiec Piotr Roman:
I believe the most important thing is to reach a decision on building a new State Fire Service headquarters, as happened in the case of the police. I think we will address this issue together and that your working conditions will change completely.
He added: “We are already talking with the commander about next year’s purchases. I hope that the equipment handed over today will be used as rarely as possible.”