CTIF remembers honorary member Manfred Gebhardt, twice CTIF vice president from Hamburg

This is an Obituary regarding the passing of OBD a.D. Manfred Gebhardt, of Hamburg fire services.  Mr Gerhard was vice president twice in CTIF´s Executive Committee and is an Honorary Member of CTIF. 

CTIF General Secretary Roman Sykora reads in the book "100 Years CTIF: 1900 - 2000" that Mr Gebhardt served twice as CTIF Vice president, and his responsibilities in the CTIF Executive Committee as for Symposiums (seminars) and CTIF Guidelines. 

Mr Gebhardt served as CTIF vice president between 1978 and 1991. 

"At the time of Mr Gebhardts retirement from the fire service in 1991, CTIF increased the number of vice presidents serving on the CTIF Executive Committee from 6 to 8 vice presidents", Roman Sykora says to CTIF News.  

The historic book "CTIF 100 Years: 1900 - 2000" can be downloaded below.  The full obituary in German can also be downloaded below. 

The below text was written by fire director Jan Peters. 

Dear colleagues, dear comrades,

In silent sadness we say goodbye to our OBD a.D. Manfred Gebhardt, who passed  on January 8th, 2023 at the age of 91.

Mr. Gebhardt (born July 19, 1931 in Berlin) was chief of the Hamburg Fire Department from 1968 to 1991.

So far, no other chief fire director has managed our fire brigade for so long.

After graduating from high school in 1949, he began studying civil engineering at the Technical University of Berlin and entered as a fire trainee in 1957 in the fire brigade. After the state examination as a fire assessor at the BF Wuppertal he began in 1962 as a fire counselor at the BF Kiel. In 1965 he was promoted there as Chief of the Kiel Fire Department.

In 1968 he moved to the Hamburg fire brigade and took over the management of the department. In 1969 he was  appointed to the position of chief fire director, which he held until his retirement in 1991.

In addition, OBD a.D. Gebhardt became honorary chairman of the Association for Promotion in 1990
of the German fire protection.

Through his network of experts for protection, rescue and security, he was able to create an unmistakable
Foundation of personal contacts and connectedness. His merits in the vfdb and in the AGBF
will remain in our memories.

We would like to pay our last respects to him with great appreciation.

The funeral service will take place on February 2nd, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. in the main church of St. Petri (at the Petrikirche 2 in 20095 Hamburg).

U.A.w.g. to abschied.gebhardt@feuerwehr.hamburg.de

Please send letters of condolence to the social service of the Hamburg fire brigade (Westphalensweg 1,
20099 Hamburg).

Our sincere condolences go out to his children and family.
For the branch line of the Hamburg fire brigade

Jan Peters
fire director