Our Heroes in Germany

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5.&nbsp;Do you ever think about the dangers of your job? Yes, I have thought about that before. Fortunately, accidents are rare for first responders, and the danger is calculable. Also, thanks to the police and fire department, who we often work closely with. And I fully trust our pilots. 6.&nbsp;How much free time do you have and what do you do in your free time? We work in shifts in emergency response and in the hospital, including nights and on the weekend. Because of that, I’m always happy when I can spend my free time with my family. I also like to go running. Reading is also nice. 7.&nbsp;Why did you choose your career? Medicine has always interested me, because it’s a very exciting field and I grew up hearing about it a lot, because my father, grandfather, and uncle were doctors. The human body, and how everything works, also diseases and treatments, is fascinating. Then when I studied, I discovered that anesthesiology was the most interesting. And emergency response fits into that category. It came together step by step. 8.&nbsp;Have you ever treated an animal? Never at work. At home I’ve taken care of a rabbit and a cat. 9.&nbsp;Have you ever fainted at work? No, that’s never happened to me. Even when we see things that aren’t very nice.

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6.&nbsp;Did you ever get detention? After school I played tuba in orchestra, so if I got in trouble, I had to come in early instead of staying in detention after school. 7.&nbsp;How did you get into this work? It’s really important to me to have fun at work. I sort of found this job by accident. My interest was piqued. 8.&nbsp;How long have you had this job? Since 2002 9.&nbsp;Do you work from home or in an office? My tool is my computer. I mostly work in the office because there are fewer distractions there. 10.&nbsp;What do you like about your job? I meet interesting people with a lot of smart ideas. 11.&nbsp;How many inventions have you worked on? Have you ever invented something? 25, for example printed light. I have never invented anything.

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Interview with an Emergency Helicopter Physician (father of a student) 1.&nbsp;What do you like best about your job? Definitely when I can help a patient quickly and help to manage their fear or pain. And I like the variety—every day is different, and you have to be fast and focused. 2.&nbsp;How do you feel and what are you thinking when you save someone? During an assignment I am very focused and only think about what there is to do. During some assignments we are of course nervous or tense. It is a very good feeling once we save the patient. Difficult to describe. Sort of happy and satisfied. 3.&nbsp;How do you feel when you can’t save someone? Unfortunately, that sometimes happens and is of course, sad. It’s also difficult to describe. A bit disappointed maybe. 4.&nbsp;What job would you have if you had to choose something new? That’s a good question…Helicopter pilot. Fireman. There are so many great careers.

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Thanks to all participants! Special thanks to our 4th graders who did the interiews!

made by Erich Kästner Primary School Leipzig, Germany

5.&nbsp;How much time do you spend with your granddaughter? What are your favorite things to do together? That has been hard in recent times. But when it’s possible I spend a lot of time with her. We haven’t really hugged each other since March because of corona. 6.&nbsp;What does your granddaughter like best about you? I think that she likes me because she can always count on me. 7.&nbsp;How was your childhood? I was born in the last few days of World War Two, but I don’t remember that time anymore. I had a good childhood. My dad died very early. After his death my older brother took over as head of the household. I liked going to school, even though I wasn’t always very attentive. For 6 years, I sung in the radio choir, which gave me the opportunity to travel the world when I was still a child. Afterwards, I graduated from high school, learned my trade, and started my adult life. 8.&nbsp;What did you want to be as a child? Did you end up having that job? Do you still work? I didn’t really know what I wanted to be as a child. Pilot, police officer, journalist? Since I didn’t know I decided I wanted to work the same job as my best friend. That didn’t work out. I became a Chemical Technician and afterwards graduated with a degree in Engineering. Now I’m retired.

13.&nbsp;Are tasks divvied up during assignments? The head of operations gives five people directions. Each of these fire men has their own job to complete. 14.&nbsp;How long is the ladder on the fire truck? 32 meters. 15.&nbsp;Are you nervous before an assignment? Yes. I’m always nervous for rescues, and that’s good because it makes me very concentrated. 16.&nbsp;What is your schedule like? A 24-hour shift. 2 days free. 17.&nbsp;How often do you have to practice for emergencies? You have to practice every day. Rescuing people has to be repeated a lot. 18.&nbsp;Do you have a second job? Yes, because I know how to cook and like to cook, I cook for parties. 19.&nbsp;How do you feel after a successful assignment? I’m proud. It is a happy feeling to be able to save people from danger.

10.&nbsp;Where do you save the most people? Accidents happen everywhere. And people get suddenly sick everywhere. We are mostly involved with patients at home and in traffic accidents. 11.&nbsp;What was your worst assignment? Assignments with seriously ill or injured children are always particularly challenging. Or big accidents with a lot of injured people. Those are things that are very challenging medically. And it’s sad when something doesn’t go well. I find it really bad when people don’t help each other, and just stand around and gawp until we get there, and sometimes get in the way of the rescue. 12.&nbsp;Did you have to have good grades to get this job? To study medicine you need an Abitur (high school ending examination) with good grades. Without that, the path to a career in medicine is very long and difficult.&nbsp;

14.&nbsp;Have you ever been injured while on an assignment? Yes, on my shoulder. 15.&nbsp;Would you sacrifice yourself to save someone in an emergency? I wouldn’t stand by and watch anyone get hurt. I would sacrifice myself in that case. 16.&nbsp;Are all police officers allowed to have a dog? No, you need special training. 17.&nbsp;Have you ever been in a car chase? Yes. It is very stressful because you aren’t just chasing someone. You also have to pay attention to the other people, cars, and animals around you. 18.&nbsp;How many women work for police? There are definitely more women than there were before. In general though, more men work for the police than women. 19.&nbsp;What do you like about your job? I like to help people. 20.&nbsp;If you could go back in time, would you still choose to be a police officer? Yes, I would. There have been times when my job hasn’t been fun though, mostly because of political decisions. There were not a lot of police officers and a lot of work to do. Now I like to go to work again though.&nbsp;

Interview with a student’s grandmother 1.&nbsp;Do you feel like a hero and what makes you a hero? There are always problems. If you don’t do something well, you shouldn’t immediately think that you can’t do it well. You should instead try to think that it was a success after all. 2.&nbsp;What is a hero to you? For me a hero is someone who is honest and reliable, someone who can admit if they don’t know something or can’t do something, someone who stands by their weaknesses, and very importantly: a hero has to be a good listener. For example: if a child says to their mother “we had five lessons today and everything was great!” Then the mother responds, “how many lessons did you have today?” That is not a hero to me. 3.&nbsp;Have you ever helped someone, and would you do it again? I have helped someone before. The most important is to be a good listener. I am always ready to help anyone no matter what problems they have. 4.&nbsp;What have you done to be your granddaughter’s hero? My granddaughter can always rely on me. I always try to help her, and she can always trust me. Whenever my grandchildren call, I will be with them as soon as possible.

20.&nbsp;What gear do fire men wear? The personal protective equipment consists of: pants, a jacket, boots, a helmet, fireproof gloves, an oxygen tank, a mask, an axe, and a belt. This all weighs 20 kg. 21.&nbsp;Are there difference sizes of hoses? Yes there are A/B/C/D hoses. The biggest is the A-Hose, which is 20m long and weighs 100-150kg. 22.&nbsp;How long goes the oxygen in the air mask last? The oxygen from the oxygen tank lasts for 30 minutes. The clock shows how much is left. 23.&nbsp;Are there really fake emergency calls? Yes, there are unfortunately too many false alarms. 24.&nbsp;What do you do in your free time? I like to be home, spend time with my family, and cook at home. I like to do sports a lot—swimming, riding my bike. My hobby is photography.

Interview with Mr. Färber: Fire Chief of the Leipzig Fire Department 1.&nbsp;Are there women in the fire department? There are five women in the fire department—at the control center and in the emergency service. 2.&nbsp;Was being a fire fighter your dream job? First, I trained to be a chef—after 15 years I wanted a change. A good friend of mine was already working for the fire department, so I started my training at 28. 3.&nbsp;Are you ever afraid during your assignments? Tension, yes, because some of the dangerous are invisible (e.g. gas) 4.&nbsp;How fast do you get into the fire truck when the alarm goes off? 60-90 seconds to go from the station into the fire truck with all your gear on and ready. 5.&nbsp;How long does it take for the fire department to get to the accident? 7-10 minutes in the city and out to the city limits. 6.&nbsp;Are you called to fires or accidents more often? Due to new rules there are often fire alarms in apartments, so we go to more accidents than apartment fires.

9.&nbsp;What do you do in your free time? What is your favorite activity? I love to travel. Foreign countries and the people who live there are really interesting to me. Right now, of course I can’t go on any of my planned vacations. I’m sure it will be possible again eventually though. Other than that, I also like to read and watch crime shows. I’m a big fan of music. I’m also interested in the music that you like to listen to. And of course I also like to spend time with my grandchildren. 10.&nbsp;What was your best experience? More than 20 years ago, I got to ride in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, which is an extremely impressive landscape in a National Park in the USA. It was particularly special because I lived in the GDR and would never have dared to dream of ever seeing this wonderful landscape. I think a lot about this experience and can still feel the emotions I felt back then. 11.&nbsp;Who is your personal hero? My personal hero is my mom. My mom allowed my brother and I to study in university, even though she worked as a secretary and didn’t earn a lot of money. She gave up a lot to give us that opportunity.&nbsp; 12.&nbsp;Do you want to be your granddaughter’s hero? Yes, of course!

Interview with two Leipzig Police Officers 1.&nbsp;Did you always want to be a police officer? Before I was a police officer, I was in the army. After the reunification of Germany, I couldn’t stay in the army. I’ve been a police officer since 1990. 2.&nbsp;Why did you want to be a police officer? Because my father was a police officer. 3.&nbsp;What you be if you weren’t a police officer? A solider in the German Armed Forces. 4.&nbsp;What grades do you need in order to become a police officer? You need ones, twos, and threes. 5.&nbsp;What tests did you have to pass in order to become a police officer? I had to do a sports test: a 3000m run, an obstacle course, and a long-distance throw. 6.&nbsp;What did you have to do during your training? The training lasts for 2.5 years. You have to do an internship and pass exams. 7.&nbsp;Is your job difficult? Every day is different. Sometimes it’s difficult, especially when you see suffering.

Thanks for being a hero!

7.&nbsp;Do you have to go to university to become a fire fighter? No. Only the fire chief has to study. He doesn’t take part in the assignments though. 8.&nbsp;Have you ever been in mortal danger during an assignment? No I haven’t in my 15 years with the fire department. We are well-protected by our uniforms. 9.&nbsp;How long have you been a fire man? 15 years. 10.&nbsp;How many liters of water is in the fire truck? 2000 liters of water, 200 liters of foam. 11.&nbsp;Are the different ranks in the fire department? The fire chief, the advanced fire chief, and the head fire chief. 12.&nbsp;Why did you decide to become a fire man? My job as a chef wasn’t fun anymore. A friend got me excited about the fire department. It was the best decision of my life. I like going to work every day.

8.&nbsp;How long do you work every day? 8 hours a day. If I have to work more one day, I can work less another day. 9.&nbsp;Do you have to exercise every day? I have to do 4 hours of exercise every month. I get paid for this time. As a police officer, you have to be fit. 10.&nbsp;What do you do in your free time? I am raising my two sons alone. Because of that I do a lot of housework. I also sometimes lie on the couch and watch football. Sometimes I play football too. 11.&nbsp;How did you earn the stars on your uniform? If you do good work for a long time, you get a positive evaluation and get a star. 12.&nbsp;What was your most dangerous assignment? An unpredictable emergency that came out of nowhere. You never know what to expect. 13.&nbsp;Have you ever had to use your gun during an assignment? I have taken out my gun twice so far. Once I had to shoot a person but not kill them.

Interview with Friedemann Stier Mr. Stier is a hero because he supports innovative ideas and helps them to become a reality.&nbsp; 1.&nbsp;Where did you grow up? I was born in London and grew up in Berlin. 2.&nbsp;What were your hobbies as a child? I played hockey until I was 13. I was also interested in model railroads and played the tuba. 3.&nbsp;What were your favorite subjects at school? Some of my favorite subjects were chemistry, math, and Latin. 4.&nbsp;Were your parents strict or easy-going? I can say that I had a happy childhood with my family. My parents paid a lot of attention to good manners. Setting the table for example. If I got in trouble at school, my parents would be angry. My parents always supported me in my endeavors and encouraged me. 5.&nbsp;Did you play pranks at school? Once I locked myself in the cupboard.

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