Chemnitz police officers receive lifesaving badge of honour
Norbert Kindt and Witali Giesbrecht honoured for heroic evacuation of a residential building / Resident Julian Deutschendorf receives certificate
The city of Chemnitz, together with the city of Limbach-Oberfrohna, today honoured two police officers with the Lifesaving Badge of Honour and thanked a Chemnitz resident for his civil courage.
The two police officers, Norbert Kindt and Witali Giesbrecht, were initially called to a container fire early on a Saturday morning in February 2016. When they arrived at the scene, they realised the full extent of the fire. The flames had already reached the entrance, the façade and the roof truss of the neighbouring residential building. The neighbouring residential buildings had to be evacuated, as did the burning house. When Norbert Kindt and Witali Giesbrecht entered the house, the smoke was already in the corridors. Risking their own lives, they got the residents out of the houses in time. The officers later had to be treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.
The officers were alerted by local resident Julian Deutschendorf, who noticed the bright glow of the fire, reacted immediately and, through his dedicated actions, woke some residents from their sleep and saved them from worse. As a token of appreciation, he received a certificate of thanks from the city of Chemnitz.
"Saving lives requires courage, a sense of responsibility and the right decision in seconds. The two police officers proved that. This was not a routine operation. They acted correctly," said Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig as she honoured the two police officers with the Lifesaving Medal of Honour of the Free State of Saxony on behalf of Minister of State Markus Ulbig.
Local resident Julian Deutschendorf thanked Barbara Ludwig: "To be so courageous, to look and not look away. That's what it's all about."
In addition to this honour, Norbert Kindt, Witali Giesbrecht and Julian Deutschendorf also signed the city's Golden Book.