Crans-Montana first responders to receive inaugural national award

The first national Helping Hand award will put Crans-Montana’s emergency responders at the centre of a ceremony in Bern on December 8. The new honour from charitable organisation helfen helfen Schweiz recognises emergency and rescue workers involved in the initial response to the fire at Le Constellation bar.

The blaze broke out in the early hours of New Year’s Day. It killed 41 people and injured 115, making the response a defining emergency for the workers who attended the scene. The inaugural award will recognise people from across the response chain, rather than a single service or profession.

The event is planned for the Bern Military Barracks, with support from the Swiss Armed Forces. Justice Minister Beat Jans and former Valais cantonal president Mathias Reynard are expected to attend. The ceremony will bring together responders from Valais, neighbouring cantons and neighbouring border regions, giving the first award a reach beyond the canton where the fire occurred.

The award recognises work across the emergency response chain. Helfen helfen Schweiz says the honour is intended for individuals from all parts of that chain who took part in the initial response to the New Year’s Day fire. That scope brings together the different services that act in an exceptional emergency, without limiting recognition to one uniform or organisation.

The ceremony will include emergency and rescue workers from Valais, neighbouring cantons and border regions. Their presence reflects the cross-regional group of responders invited to receive the inaugural award. Around 400 guests are expected in Bern, including those being honoured.

For the recipients, the award offers a national platform for work carried out during a tragedy with a heavy human toll: 41 people died and 115 were injured. The ceremony’s focus is on those who were involved in the initial response. The organisers are establishing the honour to recognise extraordinary achievements in exceptional emergency situations, making the Crans-Montana response the subject of its first presentation.

Helfen helfen Schweiz is launching the award as a national honour for exceptional emergency work. The charitable organisation was founded in Basel in 2017. Its first Helping Hand presentation will take place at the Bern Military Barracks, with support from the Swiss Armed Forces.

Several organisations are backing the initiative, including the Swiss Firefighters’ Federation, the Swiss Federation of Police Officers and the Valais Ambulance Workers’ Association. Their involvement brings national and cantonal emergency-service bodies behind a ceremony centred on the Crans-Montana responders.

Justice Minister Beat Jans and former Valais cantonal president Mathias Reynard are due to attend. Around 400 guests are expected, including the emergency and rescue workers from Valais, neighbouring cantons and neighbouring border regions. The location, military support and range of participating organisations give the inaugural event a national setting, while its purpose remains specific: to honour those who took part in the initial response to the fire.

The December 8 ceremony will establish the Helping Hand award with the Crans-Montana responders as its first recipients. The honour is designed to recognise extraordinary achievements in exceptional emergency situations, and its inaugural presentation will focus on the people who answered the call at Le Constellation.

The expected guests will come from Valais, other cantons and neighbouring border regions. That gathering puts services from across the region in the same room to mark the initial response to a fire that killed 41 people and injured 115. The award’s stated reach across the emergency response chain also means recognition can extend to individuals working in different roles and services.

Helfen helfen Schweiz is creating a recurring national form of recognition for emergency and rescue workers. The first ceremony will be held in Bern, with support from the Swiss Armed Forces and several professional associations. Its focus on the Crans-Montana response links the new honour to a specific event and the people who took part in its first response.