Viennese innovation

Second life for a public service bus as a lifesaver

Up to 102 people can be cared for and looked after at the same time in the new Vienna Professional Rescue bus.(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

The new vehicle of the Vienna Professional Rescue Service used to do its rounds as a public bus in Favoriten, but now it has become a lifesaver for large-scale operations. The "internationally unique" in-house development is a reflection of changing requirements during operations and is already attracting interest abroad.

Nobody likes getting on this bus - and yet they are happier than anyone else when it arrives: a decommissioned Vienna public transport bus from Favoriten - even if you can't see it, it already has over 500,000 kilometers on the clock - has been converted into an "evacuation bus" by the Special Operations Group (SEG) of the Vienna Professional Rescue Service. Up to 102 people, 34 of whom are seated, each with their own oxygen line, can be cared for in it.

Particularly important for large fires
The bus is not only available for horror scenarios with countless casualties, but above all for fires and carbon monoxide alarms, when entire residential buildings often have to be evacuated at once and the residents - dressed only in pyjamas on winter nights in sub-zero temperatures, for example - then need assistance. Similar challenges have been faced in the past in the event of accidents with many damaged vehicles and blocked roads. Now all these people find refuge on the bus.

However, it is not just about offering protection and safety to a large number of people in an emergency. The interior of the bus contains many of the Vienna Rescue Service's own developments that are "unparalleled internationally", as Head of Rescue Rainer Gottwald proudly emphasizes. For example, technicians had to spend a long time tinkering with the piping system for the 40,000 liters of oxygen on board, which now make it possible to provide first aid to dozens of people at once in the event of smoke inhalation. 

We have incorporated years of experience in large-scale incident management into a new vehicle in order to be able to respond even more efficiently to such incidents.

Rainer Gottwald, Wiener Berufsrettung

Bild: Berufsrettung Wien

Reflection of new deployment scenarios
From the perspective of Patrick Aigner, Deputy Head of Rescue Services, the bus also reflects the changing demands on rescue services. In view of a growing city with an ageing population - "they don't find it as easy as someone younger to stand on the street for three hours in the cold" - the bus is a sensible and worthwhile investment, not to mention new types of hazardous scenarios. If the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna hadn't been canceled recently, the bus would probably have been parked on standby there too. 

The next item on the professional rescue service's fleet wish list is a swap-body vehicle. This could be equipped with different modules according to the requirements of different operations and thus ensure even more efficient assistance than before, especially in large-scale operations.

For the time being, however, the company is particularly pleased with the self-developed evacuation bus. It is not without reason that the vehicle has already been inspected with interest by rescuers from all over the world and proudly presented as a new Viennese development at international conferences.