After 25 years, an annual firefighter exchange program between Shawnee and its sister city in Germany continues to strengthen its connection.
For 10 days, firefighters from Erfurt, Germany, and Shawnee exchange places, living with local families, taking in a different culture and trading ideas on how to respond to emergencies.
It’s a program that’s been going on since 1998, when the two cities established it as a way to improve connections.
“It’s good for our firefighters to be exposed to different ways of doing things,” said Rick Potter, Shawnee Fire Department chief. “They’re training. They’re exposed to other people. We’re exposed to other people. We all start bringing different ideas and go, ‘Hey, we saw this. We did this. Let’s try this.'”
The program connects sister cities
Established in 1993, the sister city partnership between Shawnee and Erfurt was part of an idea by then-Shawnee Mayor Thomas A. Soetaert, who lobbied for a connection between the two cities since the 1980s, according to the German Missions in the United States website.
In 1998, the central German city’s fire department and Shawnee Fire Department created an exchange program, where firefighters from each department would travel overseas, live with the families of firefighters and take in their local culture and firefighting practices.
“It’s about the relationships that you build,” Potter said. “We live with them when we go over there. We open up our homes and they stay with us. So you build those bonds and that friendship.”
This year was particularly important
Of all the years the two cities have conducted exchanges, this year was one Potter was looking forward to the most.
Along with the 25th anniversary of the program, it’s also the 100th anniversary of the Shawnee Fire Department. In addition, Potter coordinated with Erfurt firefighters to make sure they would be able to witness the grand re-opening of Shawnee’s Fire Station 71 headquarters.
The Monday before the ceremony, Erfurt Fire Chief Torsten Hinsche spoke in front of the Shawnee City Council about the importance of the program and what it means for them to visit Shawnee over the past 25 years.
“(Through) this relationship and the success of these encounters through the sister cities’ arrangements, we learn that despite our differences, we have a lot in common,” he said.
Both departments continue to grow
Through the 25 years of partnering together, Potter said it’s been important that the exchange remains a consistent, annual education process.
“That’s the important part of the continuation of it,” he said. “Because they continue to evolve, we continue to evolve. We bring things back and forth, versus having a ‘We went once and we saw how they did things. Now we come back and we don’t keep that (relationship) current and fresh’ (mindset).”
In that time, both fire departments have celebrated milestones together, as well as grieved together during times of loss. When they reunite, all of those emotions come to the surface.
“As an outsider, watching the groups come back together and the genuine love that they have for each other is so visible,” said Emily Rittman, Shawnee public safety information officer.
Erfurt firefighters love the program
Both involved with the exchange program for more than a decade, Erfurt firefighters Kai Hellstroem and Markus Jung said it’s a unique, enlightening experience every year.
“(It’s) hard to find words to express how to say thank you,” Hellstroem said. “It’s been such an enormous effort from those friends of ours here from Shawnee. (They) make it a special thing.”
During the past 10 days, the firefighters visited other departments in the Kansas City area, viewed the 9/11 memorial service in Overland Park and went to a Kansas City Royals baseball game, among other activities.
As always, Jung said one of his favorite parts was meeting new people.
“Over that (time), we find some friends, we find some new families …Â We find some new experiences,” he said. “It’s unbelievable and amazing.”
The departments feel like a family
Much like a family, both departments have watched each other grow in both their firefighters’ professional and personal lives.
“Because it’s been 25 years, they’ve seen these children go from babies to nearly 7-foot-tall adults,” Rittman said. “I mean, one of the kids that came along with their parents, they used to see him as a small boy, and now he’s taller than most the guys on our department.”
In closing his speech to the city council, Hinsche outlined the thankfulness he and his department have for the program and its continuing success.
“We can be very proud of this long period of friendly relations and exchange of (ideas) that enrich not only the two fire departments and the sister cities’ relationship seriously, but also all of us as people,” he said.
When asked about his favorite memory, Hellstroem said a simple one comes to mind.
“It’s hard to pick which moment might be my favorite one,” he said. “I think it’s straightforward: One of those Shawnee guys told me the other day, ‘You’re family to us.’ That’s my favorite memory.”
Go deeper: Watch the council’s dedication to the sister city exchange program (Starts at 36:30)
