The images of the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia also shocked Dachau in July. All that remained of whole places was rubble and mud, and dozens of deaths were to be lamented. Why did it have to come to this? This question was repeatedly answered with the failure of the warning systems. Reason enough for the Free Voters and Citizens faction for Dachau to demand the procurement of a siren warning system for the city by means of a city council motion.
Markus Erhorn (FW) was in top form in the meeting of the main and finance committee and made an almost theatrical plea for the purchase of the sirens: The protection of its residents is the most original of all tasks of a municipality – centuries ago you had ramparts and city walls , later had bunkers, so Erhorn. And now, with other dangers looming, “Sirens should become the city walls of today”. In addition, thanks to a subsidy program from the Free State, the purchase is now “cheaper than ever”.
Despite the epic and advertising text – not everyone on the committee was really convinced. Richard Seidl (Greens) asked a lot of questions in the room: In which cases would an alarm by means of a siren in Dachau be conceivable in the future? Who could even understand the various warning tones of the siren? Wouldn’t the alarm caused by the siren panic the citizens, which in turn could overload the emergency lines? And what additional security gain would the sirens ultimately have if everyone were also warned via mobile phone via appropriate apps?
City councilor Markus Erhorn makes a plea for sirens.
(Photo: Niels P. Jørgensen)
Main Office Manager Josef Hermann tried to answer: Of course the thing with the warning tones is always a challenge; in order to avoid wrong behavior, one has to keep the citizens informed. The type of disaster can never be foreseen exactly – but with heavy rain there are also areas in Dachau that are at risk. However, there is no obligation to purchase sirens, they are merely an additional instrument.
There is currently only one siren in Pellheim in the Dachau urban area. The fire brigade estimates that if you wanted to cover the entire city area, eight sirens would be required. These would cost around 143,000 euros including assembly. A current funding program from the Free State would probably take on around EUR 87,000. The sirens would then be controlled and, if necessary, triggered by the integrated control center in Fürstenfeldbruck.
“We do not know what the threat is. This is an acquisition for decades,” Florian Schiller (CSU) jumped at his city council colleague Erhorn. In other regions people regretted not having made this investment. Michael Eisenmann (Alliance) replied: “The digital warning is the safest form of warning.” Accordingly, he thinks it makes more sense to expand the digital warning system instead of investing in sirens. Bernd Hubensack (SPD) argued against it: He switched off his digital device at night, so in such a case he would only be warned by the siren. Once awake, he can then pick up his smartphone and get information instead of dialing the emergency call.
The two skeptics Michael Eisenmann and Richard Seidl did not seem completely convinced even at the end of the debate in the committee. However, he acknowledges that it is “sensible” to “provide information quickly,” said Seidl. Finally, all members of the main and finance committee voted to buy the eight sirens.