Disaster prevention
Extinguish forest fires from the air – fire brigade for more aircraft
Helicopters are indispensable during forest and wildfires. photo
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
In the case of larger forest and wildfires, firefighting aircraft or helicopters are indispensable. Does Germany have enough of these machines? The fire brigade association has its doubts.
Two smaller firefighting aircraft are available in Braunschweig for operations in Germany, but also within the EU. Last year there were major forest and wildfires in the Harz Mountains and Brandenburg, but also in Greece, for example.
“Here in Germany, for example, there would be the possibility of stationing such a unit at the former Soviet Welzow airfield in Brandenburg,” said Banse. The Ministry of the Interior in Brandenburg said that the vast majority of experts see no real benefit in firefighting aircraft. In addition to fighting fires on the ground, the country is instead relying on helicopters, “as these can usually extinguish things faster, more frequently and more precisely.”
Buy fire-fighting planes or helicopters?
Whether planes or helicopters would be purchased is currently not that important, said Banse. “The main thing is that we have enough resources. There is a problem at the moment, as the procurement of the additional planned and suitable police helicopters obviously cannot be implemented in a timely manner.”
Banse continued: “In the medium term, we in Germany should also think about whether it is possible to create a larger European civil protection base as part of the EU RescEU process. This would be about much more than just fire-fighting aircraft.” The EU program RescEU refers to the EU civil protection procedure.
At the same time, the head of the association spoke out in favor of closer cooperation between fire departments in Europe. There will be a meeting of the fire brigade association presidents of all EU countries in the next few months. “We don’t want to start a new organization,” Banse said. It’s about identifying common positions and speaking with one voice to the EU Commission.