Hi

Story from BAZ here

So the Swissies are happy to let us C-permit holders burn alive; just as long as we don't have a vote.

Cheers,
Nick

So the fire brigade is open to interested C-permit holders now but they don't have to join. On the other hand, the 20-45 years old voters of canton Basel-Stadt are required to serve in the fire brigade or have to pay an absence fee of up to 280 Fr./year.

I fail to see any disadvantage for C-permit holders.

Also I know that you haven't meant the burning alive thing literally, but I'd still like to add that any C-permit holder who's curious enough to join the fire brigade will stay in the auxiliary firefighting force (Bezirksfeuerwehr in canton BS) where fatalities are some orders of magnitude less likely. Once somebody decides to make firefighting his full time job, the professional education he gets is of course adjusted to the new situation.

The auxiliary fire brigade is a good choice for a hobby and I've met some interesting people and good friends there. Sure, you won't be first to fight the flames, the purpose of the auxiliary fire brigade is different: To handle big events (like floods), to relieve the professional first responders in long operations (fire source control), and depending on the proximity of the nearest professionals and your rank, the litteral cat in a tree, too. You also get paid a small compensation. Many auxiliary fire brigades are searching for volunteers, the formations in canton BS do, too... I'd like to recommend firefighting to all interested foreigners with good oral fluency in the local language.

Foreigners can serve in the British army and not only do they not get a vote they don't get a residence permit either ! See this thread. Foreigners also serve in the French Foreign Legion and don't get a veto.

Is this true? I have never heard of any city in Switzerland that forces you to join the fire brigade... though I'm in Zurich, so not quite sure on that topic... However I do find it a fine idea for anybody who's interested, since it does serve a public purpose...

As for the French Foreign Legion - they do get the vote after they perform their service, I'm sure... Since they also gain French citizenship...

Cheerio

Once more it's a cantonal thing. Zurich dismissed the fire brigade duty in 1991.

And in canton Basel Stadt the Bezirksfeuerwehr only have a few hundred members, the vast majority just pays.

Zürich land must have done this years a go. My English mate (C permit) from Volketswill has been in the voluntary fire brigade for years.

Someone call for the Swiss Fire Brigade?

Swiss fire Rap

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7010749.stm

Haha The new 18xx numbers for information services was a dumb idea of the bakom though.

But the rap beats the German competition (although their song is funny, too ).

Is the '1818' sevice run by the same people as the 118 118 service in the UK? If not, there might be a court case looming...

Hmm 1818 is run by Sunrise...