When Volunteers Are Priority in Resilient Societies – Danish Civil Protection League (1/3)

The Danish Civil Protection League (DCPL) is an organization with about 6000 members of volunteers in fire and rescue services all over Denmark.

With a history dating back to before WWII, the organization has gone through many phases. It was established as a civil air defense league in 1934, educating the society in case of bombings and training the volunteer air reporters. After the war, the association changed to the Civil Defence, turning the focus on fire and rescue services and humanitarian aid. Also, the education of citizens, especially in elementary firefighting and first aid, was a significant part of the organization’s work. 

In 1989, the organization transformed again as new legislation connected the field of civil protection, and the league became Danish Civil Protection League. All the different tasks from the past fulfill the same purpose of creating safe and resilient societies, which is still present today in the three main tasks at DCPL:

• to be a unified stand for all volunteers in fire and rescue services
• to educate citizens to prepare for emergencies by helping themselves and their neighbors, and thereby creating a more resilient society through our project “TheCitizenEmergencyService”
• to help local fire and rescue services recruit new volunteer and part-time firefighters through recruitment campaigns and our project “BecomeAFirefighterNow”

Text: Kia Petersen / DCPL