Gräfelfing: Fire brigade cancels aid campaign in Turkey – district of Munich

Tuğçe Zinal knows how to act in the event of a disaster. The 26-year-old is a member of the Gräfelfing volunteer fire brigade and reacts immediately, even from a distance – because most of her family lives in Turkey: in Adana, in the earthquake area that was badly damaged. She herself lost two relatives in the disaster. And so, on Wednesday, she and her comrades tried to get an aid mission to Turkey rolling within a few hours. In the course of the afternoon, it initially looks as if the first rescuers from the Munich district could board the plane in the direction of the disaster area as early as Thursday. But then Gräfelfing’s fire brigade commander Markus Fuchs has to cancel the operation after careful consideration. It is becoming increasingly clear that it would take too long for volunteers from the district to arrive in Turkey to be able to save lives.

Spontaneously ready to help: Tuğçe Zinal from the Gräfelfing fire department.

(Photo: private)

These are exciting and nerve-wracking hours. It all begins with an e-mail from Tuğçe Zinal to her commander Markus Fuchs on Wednesday night, asking whether a fundraising campaign for the earthquake victims should be started. From this, the idea developed in the morning to spontaneously start an operation directly in the disaster area, reports Fuchs. The Turkish consulate is also involved. The message from there: More helpers and material would be needed. Fuchs confers with his deputy, who quickly signals that he is also on board. At 8 a.m., the commander calls Mayor Peter Köstler (CSU), who, as the employer, declares his consent – the action gets rolling.

“I then phoned Tuğçe again to find out how we could get there,” reports Fuchs. “Turkish Airlines would sponsor the flight.” The commander asks his comrades, and more than ten quickly agree to fly to Turkey; contact is established with Garching-Hochbrück, where there is also a dog unit – and the signals from Garching are positive. “I didn’t have to ask anyone or beg for anything,” says Fuchs. District administrator Christoph Göbel (CSU) and Ottobrunn’s fire brigade commander Eduard Klas, who is responsible for disaster control in the district fire department of the Munich district, immediately signaled their support.

Earthquake disaster: Gräfelfing's fire brigade commander Markus Fuchs stands by his decision not to risk the risky operation.

Gräfelfing’s fire brigade commander Markus Fuchs stands by his decision not to risk the risky mission.

(Photo: Robert Haas)

But there are also critical voices, and Gräfelfing’s commander Fuchs also says that several hearts have beaten in his chest. “The heart of the fire brigade, the heart of a helper and the heart for responsibility,” he says. “And I have a responsibility. Especially for my people. What if someone returns injured or suffers trauma after five years because we didn’t save a human life?” At around 3 p.m. he makes the decision: the action is called off. “Weighing all the risks,” as Fuchs says.

“You have to dare sometimes, you mustn’t be hare-footed”

But also because of the realization that it might be too late to arrive in Turkey to be able to rescue people from the rubble. The volunteers from Gräfelfing, Hochbrück and also the comrades from the rescue dog squadron from Aschheim, who were asked, could only have taken a flight on Thursday morning at 9.30 a.m. Then a stopover in Istanbul, the onward transport with heavy equipment to the operational area – they could only have started on Friday.

Firefighter Tuğçe Zinal was also initially optimistic that the rescue mission could work out; she herself wanted to travel to Turkey and work there primarily as a translator. It’s about saving every possible human life, she told the SZ on Wednesday afternoon. Graefelfing’s commander Fuchs sees it that way too. Looking back, he says it was great that so many had declared their willingness to set off. “And sometimes you have to dare, you can’t always just be hare-footed. I’m glad that we started the attempt, even if it didn’t work out,” said the commander, who regrets his decision but believes it was the right one : “I would act like that again.”

Earthquake disaster: The Ottobrunn fire brigade had already loaded transport boxes for the flight to Turkey - then the cancellation took place.

The Ottobrunn fire brigade had already loaded transport boxes for the flight to Turkey – then the cancellation took place.

(Photo: FFW Ottobrunn)

At the instigation of their commander, Eduard Klas, the Ottobrunn fire brigade had already sent so-called Zarges boxes to Gräfelfing for the air transport of material. The Hochbrückers wanted to pack a laser device that could be used to detect fluctuations in buildings that are in danger of collapsing. But then it was no longer needed. “I have a lot of respect for my comrades in Gräfelfingen. It was absolutely right to have tried,” says Klas. “Markus Fuchs has more than lived up to his role as head of operations. That’s something you have to weigh up as a manager.”

According to Klas, it is now being considered whether the emergency services and organizations from the Munich district can be helpful elsewhere in Turkey. “We are considering whether and how we can deliver relief supplies, for example for emergency shelters,” says Ottobrunn’s commander. “It would be right to put all our energy into larger aid projects.”

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