If there is an accident with injured people, every move must be spot on. The Malteser relief service therefore rehearsed the emergency together with the Planegg volunteer fire brigade at various locations in the Würmtal valley on Saturday. “It is important to also practice the processes involved in larger damage situations where several patients have to be cared for,” explains organizer and practice manager Victor Hauschild, who, as deputy chief of the Malteser rescue station in Gräfelfing, organizes and plans the exercise together with emergency paramedic Yannek Münzner Has.
In three scenarios, the helpers, especially emergency paramedics in training, had to demonstrate their skills. According to one scenario, on a construction site on Fraunhoferstrasse in Martinsried, a person fell from a great height into a pit from which an iron bar was sticking out. It is believed that she suffered serious internal injuries. “The inaccessibility and depth of the scene of the accident made it very difficult for our emergency services to provide first aid to the injured person,” says Hauschild. The support of the fire brigade was necessary to rescue the accident victim.
“Everyone made exactly the mistakes they were supposed to make”
In the second exercise scenario, a cyclist crashed into a car in the parking lot of the Maria Eich pilgrimage church, which then drove into a power distribution box. It was assumed that the vehicle frame was under high voltage. The cyclist was thrown over the hood and roof of the car by the impact, hit her head on the windshield and was seriously injured. “The special challenge for the helpers was recognizing the danger of the high-voltage current and the correspondingly demanding rescue of the vehicle occupants,” explains Hauschild. The fire brigade’s pyrotechnics and the make-up deep wounds of the accident victims ensured a realistic portrayal.
In the case of Maria Eich, the scenario was an accident car that had rammed into a power distribution box.
(Photo: Sebastian Krone/private)
In the last scenario, the rescue workers were called to Martinsried for an assumed large gas explosion. In the warehouse of a dangerous goods warehouse in the IZB in Martinsried, several gas bottles were said to have exploded. After the deflagration, a fire with heavy smoke quickly developed in the hall. Several people were in the hall during the explosion, and not everyone was able to leave the smoke-filled warehouse before the fire brigade arrived.
Many actors were involved in the exercise, miming the injured.
(Photo: Sebastian Krone/private)
“For all three exercise scenarios, we chose extra situations in which our rescue workers provide emergency assistance, but at the same time train the organization of operations, cooperation in technical and medical assistance, so that everything works smoothly in an emergency,” says Hauschild. A total of 110 people were involved in the exercise, including 13 prospective paramedics from the three Malteser rescue stations in Berg am Laim, Gräfelfing and Gröbenzell, two emergency doctors and twelve mimes who portrayed accident victims. 25 helpers from the Planegg volunteer fire brigade also took part in the exercise. The rescue guards made five ambulances and two ambulances available, the fire brigade came with crew and fire engines and a vehicle with a turntable ladder. Two Malteser Rapid Response Groups from Munich set up a mobile infirmary.
The organizers are satisfied with the results of the exercise. “Everything went as we had planned,” says Hauschild. “In theory, everyone knows what to do, but practice is the best teacher. Everyone made exactly the mistakes that they were supposed to make according to the plan. Learning from them is an important experience, then these mistakes won’t happen a second time.”