LUKAS 40 years of rescue tools photo contest: the winning photos

It all began exactly 40 years ago. LUKAS developed the first hydraulic cutter, revolutionising rescue operations completely. But instead of birthday wishes, we wanted to receive powerful pictures from you, along with the stories behind them. And that's what we got. We thank all the participants for their numerous submissions from all over the world and can now announce the three winners.

Rating the photos

We were interested in how you experienced 40 years of LUKAS rescue tools and what unique personal memories you associate with that. So in addition to the idea and the way it was realised, the visibility of this aspect was a criterion for the selection of the three most convincing pictures.

The winners:

1st place: Weibersbrunn volunteer fire brigade, Germany

The story: "… The volunteer fire brigade in Weibersbrunn, Germany was the second brigade in the county of Aschaffenburg … to receive its first rescue set for the nearby A3 motorway in 1978. In over 3 decades since then, we have used only LUKAS rescue equipment - with continuous success! With this sculpture, we wanted to show every "generation" of our LUKAS tools.... The exercise also demonstrated the high reliability of these rescue tools: Even after 34 years, our oldest generation worked perfectly straightaway.... We say: Thank you, LUKAS!"
Quoted from comments about the photo by the Weibersbrunn volunteer fire brigade

All that creativity, effort and sense of tradition convinced us that this entry deserved the 1st prize: the LQS Quick Strut vehicle support system.

2nd place: Volunteer fire brigade, Prad am Stilfserjoch, South Tyrol, Italy

The story: "We include a photo from 1981, showing an exercise during the official dedication ceremony for the LUKAS tools in Prad am Stilfserjoch, South Tyrol (Italy). The quality of the photos isn't so great, but that of the tools certainly is..."
Quoted from comments about the photo by the Prad am Stilfserjoch volunteer fire brigade

This photo is a piece of rescue history, exemplifying how the team in South Tyrol was already preparing for future rescue scenarios with LUKAS rescue tools in those days. All this tradition appealed to us, so we are pleased to send our 2nd prize, the small, light LES 12 glass saw with a set of protective blankets to South Tyrol.

3rd place: Venne volunteer fire brigade, Germany

The story: "While others are still trying to get access, LUKAS has already rescued!"
Quoted Quoted from comments about the photo by the Venne volunteer fire brigade

The photo's description summarises what you can recognise at a glance: The right equipment saves time and rescues lives. And the team from Venne obviously had fun with this "exercise". Thank you for this excellent idea and its painstaking realisation.
Our 3rd prize, a glass management set with handy transport bag, goes to Venne.

Non-competing:

"Christmas has been rescued..."

In this spirit: Many thanks to all who took part and gave us insights into their daily work. We're pleased to see how you have experienced the past years and that there is one thing that hasn't changed to this day: You can count on LUKAS rescue tools.