New command at the Hof fire department

Markus Ott was elected commander of the Hof fire department.

Photo: Hof fire department — In the picture, 1st row from left to right: team representative Heiko Abel, treasurer Stephan Habicht, team representative Jennifer Abel, outgoing city fire chief Horst Herrmann, city fire inspector and newly elected city fire chief Markus Ott. 2nd row from left to right: newly elected town fire inspector Florian Schewe, team representative Markus Langheinrich, cash auditor Markus Hüttner, secretary Gerd Schmidt. Missing: cash auditor Steffen Sommermann

Oberbürgermeisterin Eva Döhla spricht zur Hofer Feuerwehr — Mayor Eva Döhla speaks at the annual general meeting of the Hof fire department

Oberbürgermeisterin Eva Döhla mit Vertretern der Hofer Jugendwehr — Eva Döhla with representatives of the Hofer Jugendwehr

Farewell to Horst Herrmann

In the packed auditorium of the Schiller-Gymnasium in Hof last weekend, city fire chief Horst Herrmann was bid farewell as the first commander of the Hof volunteer fire department. His former deputy Markus Ott was elected as the new commander. Florian Schewe is now his deputy. In addition to Hof city councillors and administrative staff, representatives from the Plauen fire station were also guests at the annual general meeting.

Mayor Eva Döhla: "The Hof fire brigade enjoys an excellent reputation in the region. It is at the highest level in terms of both personnel and technology. This is due not least to the work of Horst Herrmann, a firefighter full of conviction and energy. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the many hours of selfless voluntary work, both personally and on behalf of the people of Hof, who can live safely thanks to the Hof fire brigade."

Horst Herrmann has been an active member of the Hof volunteer fire department since the beginning of 1980 and has therefore been an active firefighter for 44 years. He is still an instructor in the field of hazardous materials. In 2015, he became town fire inspector, and in 2018 town fire councillor. His achievements include adapting the technology to current standards and countless operations. Many major fires and difficult operational situations were mastered under his leadership. One example is the major fire in Marienstraße in August 2022.

Markus Ott is the new commander

Markus Ott joined the Hof fire department in February 1986. He has been an employee of the city of Hof since July 1991, where he worked in the building yard and building department for many years. He has been employed in the Public Safety and Order Department since 2017. In his almost 40 years of service, Ott has worked his way through all ranks up to Chief Fire Officer in 2022. The second in command, Florian Schewe, joined the Hof fire department in 2006 and is employed full-time as an equipment attendant at the Hof fire department. Since the end of 2023, he has been able to call himself Oberlöschmeister.

About the operations of the Hof fire department

The volunteer fire department of the city of Hof consists of the city center department (main station), the three fire departments in the districts of Hofeck, Moschendorf and Eppenreuth as well as the fire departments in the incorporated districts of Leimitz, Unterkotzau and Wölbattendorf, which are alerted depending on the location of the incident. Furthermore, a fire engine is stationed at the construction depot in Leimitzer Straße, which is additionally alerted on weekdays during the depot's operating hours as support for the fire brigade. It is manned by employees of the building yard.

The active members now complete over 600 deployments a year, with around 6,000 to 8,000 deployment hours. In addition, there are security guard services at the fire station, the Freiheitshalle and the theater. On average, more than 300 security patrols are carried out each year, during which around 10,000 hours are completed on a voluntary basis.