The risk of forest fires in Lower Franconia has reached the highest warning level for days. It was not until Thursday that there was a large conflagration in Niedernberg in the Miltenberg district. And we can see how bad the drought can get with the wildfires in southern Europe. But the fire brigade in Bavaria reacts and equips itself with modern technology for forest fires.
Climate change: large forest fires are becoming more likely
New vehicles for firefighting were presented at a meeting of the Ministry of the Interior at the Würzburg Schenkenturm. Large-scale forest fires could also occur more frequently in Bavaria in the next ten years. The military would have to prepare for this, according to Matthias Ott from the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. He relies entirely on the 7,500 municipal fire brigades with 300,000 emergency services, which can be on site very quickly anywhere in Bavaria and have always fought forest fires at an early stage. But the new threat also means: “We now have to arm and equip the defenses for the future.”
Helicopters present firefighting from the air
Firefighting from the air with the help of helicopters was demonstrated at the Schenkenturm and the new, all-terrain and extremely heat-resistant fire brigade vehicles were presented – in the dry terrain in the hills above Würzburg. Three forest firefighting vehicles with the latest technical standards are in use. The 14-ton vehicles can easily negotiate rough terrain, drive over tree trunks and climb hills. They have 3,000 liters of water on board. The lines are fireproof, i.e. they are coated with a special material so that they do not melt in the heat. “We took over some of this new equipment from the southern Europeans, we also exchange views on tactical matters, colleagues from our fire service schools are also abroad and learning,” adds Ott.
Risk of forest fire: Main-Spessart particularly affected
The exercise was led by the head of the technical department, Stephan Brust, from the Würzburg fire brigade school. He is also district fire inspector for the Karlstadt area in Main-Spessart. And his wooded district in particular is currently suffering so much from the drought that a barbecue ban has even been introduced. For example, a new supply truck with a modular set of equipment will be used to fight forest fires in the future. With additional equipment, the all-terrain vehicle type can also be helpful in floods. The truck soon arrives in the Main-Spessart district, financed by the Free State.
Two vehicles suitable for fighting forest fires are already available in Main-Spessart: the “Löschgruppefahrzeug 20 Disaster Control” and the “Hauchwagen 2000”, presented at the presentation at the Schenkenturm by the Mittelsinn and Homburg fire brigades. These civil protection vehicles are funded by the federal government and can be used in a variety of ways. According to Matthias Ott, there should be at least three such vehicles in every Bavarian district in ten years.
Water film protects cabin and tires from the flames
The fire brigade teams can move through fires in the new vehicles, Ott explains further. And there is other special equipment: The vehicle can spray itself, the cabin and the tires with water from the outside. In this way, the crew can get to safety inside the vehicle and even have their own breathing air for around ten minutes. A maximum of six people can flee with the vehicle or wait until the danger is over. This development also comes from southern Europe, where firefighters have already been killed and seriously injured in forest fires.
Such a fire engine costs around half a million euros, and the Free State has been funding the purchase for municipalities with 90,000 euros since this year. In addition, according to Ott, smaller fire brigade units are to be set up throughout the Free State specifically for fighting forest fires. Each district should provide a civil protection train in the future. These trains could then even be activated beyond the administrative district in large-scale situations.
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