"ORLEN for Firefighters" is another edition of the programme supporting firefighters from all over Poland. The ORLEN Foundation, together with its sponsor PKN ORLEN, will once again provide funds for the purchase of equipment for professional and voluntary fire departments. This time, the amount to be distributed is PLN 2 million. The Prime Minister thanked the company for the support provided to firefighters.

"This support, which is so generously provided by the company and even more generously by the Polish state, is much needed. I want you to feel that you are not alone on your difficult path,” said the head of the government.

The funding will enable the retrofitting of the units, thus improving their operational  readiness and helping them provide assistance to those in need more effectively.

During his speech at the gala, the Prime Minister also mentioned the draft act for volunteer fire departments, which provides for a number of beneficial changes for volunteer firemen and firewomen. “We are now creating a special act on Volunteer Fire Departments that will provide for good solutions such as concessions, pension allowances, special treatment for firefighters, as well as strictly defined working conditions thanks to which specialist equipment will become a standard,” said the head of the government, adding that the act will constitute the basis for functioning for all volunteer firefighters: “I do not hesitate to say that it will be the foundation of your work for the next 10 years.”

There are currently over 220,000 volunteer firefighters nationwide who are certified for rescue operations. There are over 16 thousand Voluntary Fire Department units in Poland. Beneficial changes that the draft assumes include:

• a rescue benefit for serving in voluntary rescue and firefighting units in the amount of PLN 200 per month,
• additional entitlements such as exemption from work, damages, compensation, pensions, discounts and allowances, as well as state assistance for their families in case of the death of a volunteer firefighter during rescue operations,
• the right to periodic and free medical check-ups as well as free psychological support,
• personal protective equipment and special uniforms,
• a card providing additional privileges,
• rules of training for volunteer firefighters rescuers enabling the achievement of the professional title of firefighter.

In his speech, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawicki emphasised the huge role of Volunteer Fire Departments in the development of local communities. He pointed out that firefighters from Voluntary Fire Departments are people who not only represent tradition with dignity but also build the local fabric and cohesion within municipalities, villages and poviats. At the same time, he stressed that: “Fire stations are the centres of emergency management as well as centres of cultural life in many villages and towns.”