Bavaria strengthens the fire brigade: new draft law for volunteers!

Bavaria strengthens the fire brigade: new draft law for volunteers!

München, Deutschland - On April 1, 2025, the Bavarian Ministerial Council approved a new draft for the amendment to the Bavarian Fire Brigade Act (BayFWG). This step follows an extensive legislative procedure and delighted the fire brigade associations in the Free State. According to Fireworld of the State Fire Brigade Association Bavaria (LFV Bayern), satisfied with considering the demands of the associations in the draft.

The new bill provides for a comprehensive strengthening of the training at the district level. This means that district instructors can receive expense allowances in the future. This is considered an important step to promote the quality of training and binding within the fire brigade. The position of the volunteer district fire councils is also strengthened by law, which underlines the relevance of this position within the fire service system.

significant changes to the draft law

Another central point of the draft law is the minimum service for commanders who stays with four years. In addition, the age limit for the voluntary service is increased from 65 to 67 years. This proposal, brought in by Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, is intended to ensure that active firefighters can continue to remain committed even in older age. In Bavaria, the number of volunteer firefighters is around 320,000 out of a total of 328,000 active forces, which illustrates the importance of this regulation. In addition, the new draft has the possibility of extending the active service by up to three years, several times possible, in the eye ", as bayern.de reports.

A new regulation should also introduce the allowance for instructors from firefighters. This could help to increase the motivation and quality of the training, which is of the utmost importance for security in the operational operation.

fire protection education and support of the fire brigade associations

The new law will also anchor fire protection education and prevention as tasks of the communities. This gives the municipalities directly for the clarification of fire hazards and prevention measures. Fire brigade associations should receive an existing guarantee by the law and the possibility of an extension to learn an expansion of honor and age departments what their future can secure in the long term.

Eitzenberger expressed the hope that the draft law will soon be decided in the state parliament in order to implement the necessary changes as soon as possible. The LFV Bayern also plans to work constructively in the event of adjustments to the execution regulations and the enforcement announcement. The Council of Ministers had already advised a first draft to change the BayfWG at the end of December 2024 and initiated the association hearing, which many are seen as a positive sign of the further development of the Bavarian fire brigade, as stmi.bayern.de emphasized.