Rehearsed for an emergency

“A plane crash can challenge any fire department”

At Vöslau airfield, the dangers and challenges were illustrated using real aircraft.(Bild: Daniel Wirth, Nikola Reiner-Rautek)

The drama in the Waldviertel region showed how important knowledge of aircraft can be for firefighters - even if there is no landing site in the area. Theory and practice were therefore on the training schedule.

"We hope we never have to use the knowledge we have acquired," the comrades from the Baden-Land section are certain. Nevertheless, the tragic plane crash in the Waldviertel region, which claimed the life of an experienced pilot (83) at the weekend, showed that fire departments can quickly be called upon to respond even if there is not actually an airfield in their area of operation.

The tragic plane crash in the Waldviertel region (right) highlighted the importance of firefighter training.(Bild: Feuerwehr)

For this reason, the Florianis from the section south of Vienna went to Vöslau airfield in Kottingbrunn for training, where Roland Pachtner, head of the Schwechat Airport fire department, and his colleague Daniel Wirth provided them with detailed information on the dangers following a crash and the correct procedure for securing and rescuing aircraft. After the theoretical part, what had been learned was illustrated and further deepened using helicopters and small aircraft.

The 83-year-old's crash also highlighted the dangers that lurk when securing the accident site. Because it was not clear whether the parachute rescue system had been triggered by a propellant charge, experts from the demining service had to be called in first. "Any small vibration could have led to an explosion," they said.