Disaster control – Learning from Ahrweiler – District of Munich

Harald Stoiber has been involved in fire and rescue services for almost 30 years. Now he has succeeded the district fire chief Josef Vielhuber, who died in mid-April. He thus forms the interface between the district administration and the operational business of the fire brigade. After the most recent experiences with floods and storms, he pays particular attention to disaster control.

SZ: What about disaster control in the district?

Harald Stoiber: Basically, the Munich district is very well positioned. The demanding thing about civil protection is that it evolves in a new direction every few years. Environmental influences such as floods and snow conditions have always existed. Terrorist scenarios have been added in recent years. And now, in the pandemic, we are again in a new strategic direction.

What are the dangers in the district?

There are always application scenarios where an industrial accident or an accident involving dangerous goods takes on larger proportions. Otherwise, in addition to the classic storms, we have increasingly extensive rain events where a rain area has stopped on a district. Large amounts of water come together, which can lead to dramatic events, as was the case in Ahrweiler. In addition, there may be pictures that we in the Munich district, thank goodness, haven’t had yet. I remember the rampage in Munich. But basically I don’t see the great danger of terrorism in the district now.

Would you be prepared for a disaster like the one in Ahrweiler?

On the whole, I think so. But we want to protect as many people as possible. Not just life, but also the substance behind it, i.e. residential buildings, etc. There is certainly still a need for optimization. We will draw many instructive conclusions from Ahrweiler. What did not go optimally there in the preliminary planning? Do we have locations or districts with a comparable geographic situation? In Ahrweiler it was also found that the population warning was too sluggish.

What can be improved there?

We need to raise awareness among the population. It has now been recognized that in addition to the classic warning apps such as “Nina” and “Katwarn”, which everyone should have on their mobile phones, we need a second infrastructure that alerts everyone who does not have these systems. That’s why siren systems will be there again in the future.

The last nationwide test alarm was rated as a failure.

At that time, the BBK sent a letter to all control centers in advance and it said somewhere inconspicuously: ‘Only we trigger.’ That created confusion. This resulted in an overlay because the federal and state governments pressed the button at the same time. The server structure collapsed. In addition, we only have two municipalities that currently have disaster protection modules, i.e. they represent controllable sirens for disaster protection. All other sirens are only used to alert the fire brigade.

Where do you have to invest?

On the one hand, there is a need for investment in siren alarms. Everything else is individual measures such as the creation of new civil protection camps. Where we are certainly taking money in hand, the decision in principle has already been made in the district, is that we should reorganize ourselves for the future in the form of a training hall. The district wants to create an opportunity where you can train all year round, regardless of the weather.

How are you set up in terms of personnel?

The disaster control relies on the non-police emergency response, i.e. fire brigades and rescue services. With 4,100 emergency services on standby, we have a great deal of clout. From the hardware side, i.e. everything we have in terms of vehicles and technology, this is very clear compared to the rest of Bavaria. We don’t need to be concerned about that. But the burden is growing. What used to be 150 to 200 missions are now between 300 and 800 in the fire brigades.

You have the highest density of fire brigades in Germany in the district.

Yes, but that doesn’t mean that we always draw on the full. People have to make money too. We have very good personnel qualifications. But can we keep it that way over the next few years? More and more employers cannot permanently release their employees; there is great pressure to perform in our society. It will be very exciting to see whether the level in the district will be sustainable in ten years.

So to the professional fire brigade?

I hope not. The structure of volunteering has grown over many decades. Rather, you have to try to give up topics again, such as opening an apartment for emergency calls. If the home emergency call operator is not able to reach the emergency call in time, then the fire brigade and the rescue service will be notified. You have to constructively sit down with the operators so that the load does not become too heavy.

What should you do in the event of a disaster?

Keep calm and keep up to date with the media. As a preventive measure, the municipalities must sensitize their population by creating offers or information about what should be kept available. People should have a certain amount of water or long-life food at home so that they can supply themselves for two or three days. Flashlight, spare batteries, radio. There is nothing worse for people like not knowing what is happening or how to act.

What does the future hold?

So much has changed during my time in the fire service business. We had wasps on duty for years. That has moved completely into the background because environmental protection is much more present today. That was then seamlessly filled up with other topics. First came photovoltaics, now we are in the field of electric motorization and medical first aid is being added more and more frequently. There will be tasks that we don’t even have on our screen yet. For example in the area of ​​urbanization, alternative transport routes. What is in store for us? Magnetic levitation trains, gondolas or drones? Another question: do we need civil protection camps? With the fall of the Iron Curtain, these facilities were gradually abolished. The corona pandemic has shown that we need such reproaches. In Bavaria, disaster control camps will come to the fore.

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