North Rhine-Westphalia: "Keep the shop running": Reul thanks the helpers

Dortmund (dpa / lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) has honored the voluntary commitment to civil protection.

North Rhine-Westphalia: "Keep the shop running": Reul thanks the helpers

Dortmund (dpa / lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) has honored the voluntary commitment to civil protection. This is "simply not possible" without volunteers, says Reul. "More than 80 percent of people do this voluntarily alongside their job, school or study. They keep the shop running and I'm infinitely grateful for that," said Reul on Saturday at the Civil Protection Day in Dortmund.

Many organizations were represented at the event with information stands. Among them were the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, the German life-saving society, the German Red Cross, the Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe, the Maltese relief service, the technical relief organization and the association of fire brigades in North Rhine-Westphalia. The focus was on the storm.

"Dangerous weather conditions will keep us busy in the future. Preparing for a storm catastrophe can save lives in an emergency," emphasized Reul.

The next North Rhine-Westphalian Civil Protection Day is scheduled to take place in Krefeld on September 10th.