They are loud, they scare you – no question about it: sirens can warn you of dangers. But the fire in a bungalow house in Ottobrunn last week showed that many people do not know exactly what to do when the howling sounds. The interaction with warning apps is apparently not yet known everywhere. The SZ spoke with Oliver Mall, the head of the public security and order department in the district office, to which the fire brigade operations center and disaster control are also subordinate, about where in the district sirens are, what which tone means and why you can download Katwarn or Nina onto your smartphone should.
SZ: During the fire in Ottobrunn, some residents weren’t sure what the siren meant. What should have been done?
Oliver Mall: It’s not that easy with warning sirens because you don’t know exactly what the danger is. So you have to get other information, for example turn on the radio, read on the Internet or look up the Katwarn or Nina app. The advantage of sirens is that you can always hear them.
Is there an action that is always appropriate at the howling sound, such as closing the windows?
It is best to find out more immediately. Because it can be different. It can also be the case that you should leave an area as quickly as possible, such as the flood in Ahrweiler. It doesn’t help to close the windows.
Where in the district are there sirens, what are the differences?
There are sirens in 24 of the 29 district communities, but those to warn the population are only available in Ottobrunn and Neubiberg. The other sirens are there to alert the fire department.
Do they sound different?
Yes, the howling to warn the population lasts about a minute and keeps increasing and decreasing. The fire brigade siren for the emergency services emits a loud tone three times, each lasting twelve seconds. In between there is a pause of twelve seconds.
In order to know what is going on, you should download the Katwarn app on your mobile phone. Can you briefly explain how it works?
You can download it from the App Store or Google Play. It is very easy to use. You enter certain locations for which you would like to receive a warning, or you can choose to receive them for the location you are currently in. The advantage over the siren is that you can pass on a lot more information. During the house fire in Ottobrunn, Katwarn triggered a warning that windows and doors should be kept closed because of the smoke. The Nina app works the same way. Everyone can decide for themselves which of the two apps to use.
What do the apps warn of?
The classics are major fires, forest fires, floods and bombs. The warning is always issued when a large number of people could be affected by a dangerous event. With regard to Corona, for example, Katwarn also provided information when certain incidences meant certain legal effects. The fire brigade operations center supplies the app with information. But the weather service can also send out warnings via the app.
In addition to sirens and warning apps, other services are also used. Which?
In addition to radio announcements, citizens are sometimes also warned by loudspeakers that can be installed on fire engines. There are 19 such mobile sirens at the fire brigades distributed across the district, which can output both a siren signal and loudspeaker announcements. Probably from autumn next year it should also “cell broadcastWarnings appear directly on the cell phone, much like the immigration SMS that you receive when crossing the border. This is already used in other countries, for example in Japan for tsunami warnings. Here, the federal government is building one Service currently on.