Appeal to the public

Fire department struggles with “unnecessary” deployments

During severe storms, the fire departments have to deal with a large number of emergency addresses and often have to prioritize.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

The fire department is repeatedly confronted with operations that tie up resources that are more urgently needed elsewhere. An appeal is now being made to the public.

The storms and prolonged rainfall in the recent past in particular meant that the fire departments were called out to countless locations in a very short space of time. In such situations, the helpers have to assess where they are needed most urgently and in what order the alarms are processed. However, the provincial fire brigade command says that they are also repeatedly called out for "minor issues".

Operations tie up resources
"This not only leads to unnecessary deployments, but can also cause serious delays in helping people who find themselves in life-threatening situations or suffer massive damage to property." Minor flooding or dripping water, for example, would often not pose an acute danger, yet such operations tie up valuable resources.

Waiting times are part of it
In some cases, it is not even possible for the fire departments to help - for example, if there are just a few centimetres of water in the basement - because the equipment is designed for major incidents. Particularly in the case of major incidents, there may also be waiting times because there are many emergency addresses to deal with.

Take precautions in good time
The fire department also recommends that the public take appropriate precautions when warnings of impending storms are issued, such as filling sandbags or sealing cellar windows. During flooding, the main switches for heating, electricity and water should be switched off.