A company of firefighters made up of Catholic monks – which is believed to be the only unit of its type in the world – has been given almost one million zloty for a new vehicle by the state-owned company developing a planned “mega-airport” in central Poland.
“The volunteer fire brigade in Niepokalanów, due to its immediate proximity to the planned airport, will be the first line of support for it,” says the firm.
The firefighting unit was established in 1931 by Maksymilian Kolbe at the Niepokalanów monastery he had founded four years earlier. Kolbe, now recognised as a saint by the Catholic church, died in 1941 at Auschwitz concentration camp after volunteering to take the place of a man condemned to death by starvation.
The brigade – whose members are all monks – is part of Poland’s National Firefighting and Rescue System (KSRG), the state entity that coordinates and oversees professional and voluntary fire services.
Monk-firefighters from Niepokalanów (source: Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna Niepokalanów/Facebook)
The monk-firefighters’ base is around 11 kilometres from the planned location of the Solidarity Transport Hub (CPK), a major air, rail and road hub being developed by the government. Its centrepiece is a new airport that would be one of the largest in Europe.
Last week, the firm developing CPK gave 920,000 zloty (€206,640) to the volunteer fire brigade in Niepokalanów to cover 90% of the costs of a new rescue and firefighting vehicle.
It will “not only serve the surrounding towns, but also improve the security of the CPK investment”, said the firm, which has already co-financed the purchase of six vehicles for other volunteer fire brigades in the area.
Design concepts for Poland's planned new mega-airport, prepared by the firm of renowned architect Sir Norman Foster, have been unveiled.
The transport hub, located halfway between Warsaw and Łódź, is forecast to serve 65 million passengers a year by 2060https://t.co/elj2fvhb6Q
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 6, 2023
“We are glad that the CPK positively considered our request for the subsidised purchase of a fire truck,” said Brother Janusz Kulak, head of the volunteer brigade. “The new vehicle will drive our further development, encourage young novices, and be a cause of pride for the entire unit.”
Katarzyna Dobrońska, CPK’s director for relations with its surrounding area, says it is “an honor for us that as a company we can be part of the history” of the “unique” Niepokalanów firefighting unit.
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Main image credit: CPK press materials
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
