The story told by the Ebersberg fire brigade commander Christoph Münch dates back a few years. However, it has not lost its explosiveness. At that time, the rescue control center called the fire brigade to an apartment as so often – this time it had to be done very quickly. A woman had locked herself out, in the apartment three unsupervised small children and an open balcony door. So she informed the rescue control center. When the firefighters arrived, it quickly became clear that there was no open balcony door and certainly not three small children. It would have taken the locksmith a long time to be there and open the apartment. And would have been expensive. Under the circumstances, the woman thought it wiser to call the fire department.
The case is an extreme one, as Münch emphasized during the panel discussion on “Violence against police and rescue workers” on Wednesday evening in the Evangelical community center in Ebersberg. Nevertheless, he is an example of a development that is striking in rural areas, such as the Ebersberg district – more striking than the increasing number of violence against police and rescue workers, which according to Federal Criminal Police Office can be observed across the whole of Germany. Because: The inhibition threshold in the population to call 110 or 112 is falling. “In some operations to which we are called, a plaster would probably have done the trick,” said Martha Stark, head of the BRK rescue service and deputy managing director of the district association. Together with the organizer of the evening, Walter Reichert, and the host, Pastor Edzard Everts, Stark, Münch and the Ebersberg police chief Ulrich Milius discussed the topic with a good 20 guests for two hours.
The Ebersberg fire brigade commander Christoph Münch, the head of the BRK rescue service in Ebersberg Martha Stark and the head of the Ebersberg police inspection Ulrich Milius discussed on Wednesday evening the topic of “violence against police and rescue workers”.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Christoph Münch reported on many cases that left him and his fire brigade comrades shaking their heads. The washing machine hose burst and left a little water on a manageable area – and the 112 was alerted. There’s a twig half a meter long on a street – and the firefighters are supposed to move in. Or there is half a centimeter of water in the basement after a storm – and some expect support from the fire brigade there too.
“It’s frustrating,” said Münch when asked. “That wears us down in the long run and of course we lose the joy of volunteering bit by bit if we keep getting the bell out of bed at night or being called away from work because of something like that.” Because of incidents where buckets and cleaning rags would also help. Especially since: “If there’s water in the basement, we can’t pump it all out with our equipment – there’s always a residue left over that you just have to wipe away with a rag.”
A firefighter also spoke from the audience and reported on cases with hardly any water in the basement. During one operation, it even happened that the affected homeowners made themselves comfortable for a coffee while the volunteers took care of the basement.
There are also other cases – in which those affected help out
Of course, the emergency services also experience other situations, as Christoph Münch said. People would lend a hand, donate 30 euros for the coffee fund or come by the next day with a beer and a homemade cake. However, the unmistakable trend remains: People are increasingly alerting emergency services, even though it is anything but necessary.
Martha Stark from the BRK also reported on the increasing number of operations, which cannot only be explained by population growth. “People no longer have as much idea of what is an emergency and what is not.” The full-time and volunteers of the BRK went out 13,000 times last year.
Police officers in the Ebersberg district were attacked 54 times last year
And what about violence against emergency services – does that not exist at all in the Ebersberg district? Yet. Police chief Ulrich Milius named 54 cases in the past year that went to the detriment of police officers – sometimes there were insults, sometimes shoving. This corresponds to the Bavarian average. “The number is still frightening,” he said. Because even if events like two years ago, when a man pushed two police officers down stairs during an operation, are extremely rare: “The extent of the violence has simply changed.” He referred to the two murdered police officers in Rhineland-Palatinate, who were shot dead by a man during a traffic check earlier this year – because he wanted to cover up poaching.
The situations in which firefighters and rescue workers are attacked look different. Neither in the current nor in the previous year was there an incident at the BRK in Ebersberg in which an employee was absent, said Martha Stark. Christoph Münch also did not report any current incidents at the fire brigade in which there had been a physical attack. Although it has certainly happened in the past that, for example, when roads are blocked, drivers have used their cars as weapons. Despite the barrier, they drove towards firefighters and hit them with the side mirror.
In the case of verbal attacks, firefighters and rescue workers are trained to respond in a de-escalating manner – i.e. to ignore the insults or leave the situation. “People usually call the ambulance in an exceptional situation,” said Martha Stark. It’s still not nice when colleagues are insulted. But in view of the stress that the emergency causes for those affected and their families, it is often excusable.