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Chemnitz rejoices: the first Fire Cup inspires the youth fire departments!
On June 21, 2025, the “Chemnitz Fire Cup” took place in the Gellertstrasse stadium to promote the fire department’s youth work.
Chemnitz rejoices: the first Fire Cup inspires the youth fire departments!
As part of the Capital of Culture year 2025, the first “Chemnitz Fire Cup” took place on June 21st in the CFC stadium on Gellertstrasse, a competition organized for children and youth fire departments from the region and beyond. According to information from MDR A total of 59 teams took part in this event, with many coming from Saxony, but also from Schwanau (Baden-Württemberg), Düsseldorf (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic). This shows how important youth work is within the fire department and how it is perceived by the public.
In Chemnitz itself, around 450 children and young people are actively involved in the fire department. They can join the children's fire department from the age of six. The event was not only competitive in nature, but also aimed to promote the values of care, respect and camaraderie, as the local fire department states on its website jugendfeuerwehr-chemnitz.de emphasized.
Competition conditions and performances
In midsummer temperatures, every participant had to give their best. The competition covered various basic firefighting skills, including laying hoses, coupling, tying safety knots and extinguishing with a bucket sprayer. These skills are crucial not only for competition, but also for real-world use. After all, it's not enough to just achieve the best times - teamwork is the key to success.
The big winner of the day was the Siegmar youth fire department, which won five trophies. After the competition, an eleven-year-old participant named Nino expressed his desire to join the volunteer fire department, which shows how much such events inspire and motivate young people.
The role of youth fire departments in Germany
Nationwide, a total of 372,334 boys and girls are active in youth fire departments and children's groups, according to statistics from the German Fire Brigade Association ( jugendfeuerwehr.de ). The number of members increased by 4.3 percent compared to the previous year. What is particularly noteworthy is that more and more girls are finding their way into the youth fire departments, which makes up a significant proportion of the total number.
With 20,996 young people who have already taken up active service in the local fire brigades, it is clear that the work of the youth fire brigades is not just a leisure activity, but often lays the foundation for a professional career in the fire brigade. This makes youth work an essential part of volunteer fire departments.
The “Chemnitz Fire Cup” once again made clear how important it is to get young people excited about and support the fire service. At the end of the day, after the colorful hustle and bustle, the comrades from the Euba volunteer fire department had to go out to a real fire, proving that an emergency is never far away - just a real everyday fire service!