Fire brigade readiness: Waldeck-Frankenberg district upgrades!

Fire brigade readiness: Waldeck-Frankenberg district upgrades!

In the Waldeck-Frankenberg district, the fire brigades are currently facing challenging times, because the risk of forest fire is a topic that is becoming increasingly important. The first district member Karl-Friedrich Frese made this clear in a recent message. It is positive to report that there is currently no striking trend for an increased risk of forest fire. Nevertheless, in recent years they have been intensively prepared for possible forest fire scenarios. As early as 2022, a seminar on forest and surface fire fighting took place in cooperation with the district fire brigade association. In this context, many cities and municipalities were equipped with special forest fire fighting sets that consist of distributors, D-hoses and jet pipes, among other things.

A big step to optimize fire protection measures was also taken in 2023. The STLF 20-V relay fire engine and the TLF 4000-V tank fire engine were included in the fire protection promotion directive. These vehicles are specially designed for combating vegetation fires and enjoying additional funding. The news is also particularly gratifying that new relay drafts for Volkmarsen and Allendorf/Sombar are procured in the district. The fire brigade Bergheim/Giflitz can also use a modern device car logistics that is optimally equipped for forest fire fighting.

training and operations

Another important point is the training of the fire brigade members. The Hessian State Fire Brigade School in Kassel offers special training seminars for forest fire fighting; According to Frese, 64 firefighters from Waldeck-Frankenberg have already registered for these seminars. On average, the region has shown 41 missions a year over the past two decades due to vegetation and surface fires. The highest value was reached in 2018 with 110 missions, while in 2021 there were only 20 missions, including stubble field fires.

With regard to forest fire prevention, the challenges in Germany have grown steadily in recent years. Climate change shows its effects due to increasingly hot and dry summer, while storm damage and beetle attack put additional pressure on the forests. Since May 2020, the Wald fire -climate -resilience (WKR) is to be developed as part of the WALLAIC (WKR). The optimization of the cooperation between the forest and fire brigade is at the top of the agenda, as can be seen on the website of the Baden-Württemberg forestry association.

forest fire statistics and outlook

The current figures on forest fire in Germany give both the reason for concern and reason for hope. According to the Federal Environment Agency, there were a total of 1,059 forest fires in 2023, which means a decrease of half compared to 2022. Nevertheless, the affected area is 1,240 hectares, which is above the long -term average of 710 hectares. Regions such as Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and Saxony were particularly affected, with Brandenburg at the top with a fire area of 765.2 hectares. The risks are clear: Yüngere and light needle forests with dense undergrowth are particularly susceptible to fire, which is why the conversion into multi -layered mixed forests is recommended as a preventive measure.

forest fires are not only a threat to the forest ecosystems; The emissions that are released during such events can also affect human health. In 2022, for example, around 0.28 million tons of CO2 equivalents were emitted by forest fires. Despite the worrying development, there are also positive aspects: forest fires can create ecological niches and thus contribute to biodiversity.