One is, after all, a dad in a way (Torben Bang-Christensen, fire inspector and one of the initiators of Brandkadet 2670)
It was tough times for Greve Fire Department in 2008. An inferno, one is tempted to say. The fire brigade had to respond 115 times to the Askerød district of Greve to extinguish fires in cars, containers, bicycle sheds and municipal buildings. And if that wasn't enough, the firefighters were greeted with stones, threats, theft and other harassment. When it was really bad, the fire brigade could only get in and out of the area if the police escorted them. Something had to be done.
The normal way to solve social problems in disadvantaged neighborhoods is to renovate facades, put up surveillance cameras and then throw someone in jail. But it's no use,” says Torben Bang-Christensen, fire inspector at Greve Fire Department and one of the initiators of the now famous initiative Brandkadet 2670, which with support from TrygFonden has spread from one postcode to a nationwide program. What doesn't work is to hit hard against hard, says Torben Bang-Christensen. It will never create the trust in an authority that is necessary for the fire service to perform its duties in vulnerable residential areas.
Both the horror scenario and the role model come from Manchester in England, where the fire service experienced being attacked, lured into traps with needles and even shot at when they responded to calls in Moss Side and similar vulnerable residential areas. When the Manchester Fire Service was invited to Greve in 2009 to advise their Danish colleagues on reducing arson and harassment, the message was clear: you need to get started now, before the disturbances escalate and become a habit.
The Center for Housing Social Development categorizes Fire Cadets as “a role model project with an early crime prevention aim”. In other words, it is the little brothers/little sisters segment that the project is aimed at, those who do not commit crime themselves, but are at risk of doing so, for example because they have older siblings who are criminals. Fire Cadets is not for hardcore young people or young people with band affiliations, because that's where the Fire Department's and project managers' pedagogical abilities are limited. The purpose of Fire Cadets is to give young people insight into and a feel for a working community and a culture characterized by rules, discipline, trust and community in order to raise their self-esteem and social skills.
The fire cadet trainees are either aged 12-14 or 15-17, are at risk of crime but not outright criminals, some are tired of school, have low self-esteem, some lack leisure activities and adult contact. Schools, street outreach workers, clubs and social housing workers all help to find the children who benefit from the program. The program typically lasts one week, ending with a ceremony for families and friends.
On the surface, the Fire Cadet program is a mini training course in the basic work of the fire brigade, but in reality, the program is a masked social effort with clear outputs for the young people, their families, the school, the area, the housing associations and for their vandalism account.
Masked education
“We start by defining the values for the week ahead,” says Torben Bang-Christensen. First, the young people formulate the values that everyone must live by during the week, and then the project manager from the Fire Brigade shows which values they work by. The values and rules agreed upon apply throughout the week - and for everyone, young people as well as adults: For example: no hand signs, no swearing, no Koranic talk or religious rules, no spitting and everyone cleans up after themselves. Lunch must be in order, preferably with fruit, and soft drinks are banned. And you have to be on time (those who have big problems with this are actually picked up and brought to and from the schools by the fire brigade)!
Over the course of the week, the youngsters get to see the different corners of the fire brigade's work: they learn first aid, go on a smoke diving course, open and chop up cars, secure the scene of an accident, deal with a car fire and many other professional things. There's plenty of excitement and adrenaline during the week, and the activities require courage, willpower and strength to complete. In addition to the exercises, the participants are also assessed on the Fire Brigade's Fire Code: How do they understand instructions; are they committed; do they shake hands properly; parry orders; work together as a team?
It may be the actual firefighting work that attracts the young people, but the whole program is mostly about developing the young people personally. For Torben, the course is all about socialization and norm building and “an excuse to talk to the young people about their problems”. When they have lessons on how to cut up a car, it also becomes a conversation about the miserable gangster and street life, that you can't steal and that you have to remember seatbelts, and when there is a first aid course it turns into conversations about health and lifestyle. The conversations are primary, the activities are secondary.And when there is unrest, the project managers can draw either the yellow or red card. It's a language the young people know, but it's extremely rare that the project managers are forced to use the cards, and never the red one. The young people learn to take responsibility, they learn order - and when they do it well, they get praise. “They've never tried that before,” says Torben.
X-factor
The last day of the program is show day. Inspired by the TV format X-Factor, the young people stand on stage and show off their skills to their families in the spectator rows. The local newspaper is there for the prize-giving ceremony. It's a big day for the young people and their families. Each one stands up and talks about the process for 30 seconds. They talk about what they have learned and what they have gained from it, what the best part has been. Some are so nervous that they break down, but when it's over, they are cheered to a degree they have never experienced before.
In the weeks following the course, the instructor comes to the school classes where the participants come from and talks about what they have done. He brings with him a folder with a course certificate and hundreds of photos. The participants are honored and allowed to use the folder for job interviews, potential students are enticed, and the fire department distributes information in the areas around their work. And not just to the little brothers and their families, but also to the more tough and criminal big brothers.
In 2008, the fire brigade was met with stones and harassment when they drove into Askerød, but now they are met with high fives and “what's up boss”. And the fires? Fire Cadets 2670 started as a local initiative in Greve in 2008. Today it is a nationwide program with support from TrygFonden.
Torben finds that many people arrive “with a broken back and leave the course with a straight back”. And then there is a side benefit that should not be underestimated, says Torben: “You become part of the firefighter family and you become part of the firefighter family. Being a firefighter is cool! And you can also pick up chicks with it.”