Looking back, written in late February 2026 after the black ice deployment.
Red Cross medic in civil protection, next to a full semester
I've volunteered with the German Red Cross in Potsdam since October 2024. This winter it was a major fire and black ice.
- Written
- Event
- German Red Cross Potsdam, deployments in November 2025 and February 2026
- Reading time
- 2 min read
Not what you’d expect from a CS student: since October 2024 I’ve been a volunteer medic (Sanitätshelfer) with the German Red Cross (DRK) in Potsdam, in the medical squad of the emergency unit. That’s civil protection.
I did the medic training in Potsdam specifically for this, plus the radio course for emergency services. We get alerted about once a month, and roughly every second alert turns into an actual deployment. On top of that there are medical standby shifts at concerts, cultural events and sports events, about every two weeks. When another squad is short of people, I help out there.
Two deployments from this winter. In November there was a major fire. We supported the fire brigade and took care of the people affected, food and support. In February the black ice came. The ambulance service was overloaded and we took over what we could. I’m not writing more detail than that on purpose. These are real people.
Both happened in my fullest semester so far: 42 instead of 30 ECTS credits, and since January my first job as a developer. For me volunteering isn’t a duty I tick off. It gives me a lot back.
And it rubs off. On a deployment, when in doubt, you pick the option that harms nobody. Software that answers real phone calls gets the same rule from me.