New enactment from Hanover: Fire brigade structures in the Diepholz district reformed!

New enactment from Hanover: Fire brigade structures in the Diepholz district reformed!

Landkreis Diepholz, Deutschland - A new enactment from Hanover could fundamentally reform the structures of the fire service willing in Lower Saxony. Klaus Speckmann, head of the Population Protection specialist service in the Diepholz district, presented the planned changes in the Committee on Population Protection, Transport and Security. The introduction of "fire service readers Lower Saxony" is the focus, a measure that is to be carefully defined. The state of Lower Saxony will also replace all the necessary vehicles at its own expense, which were previously financed by the municipalities. There are currently three fire departments in the Diepholz district: North, Mitte and South.

14 people in the management team and five trains are necessary for the formation of a state of fire brigade. A fifth train should ensure your own supply, so that the fire brigade can operate up to 48 hours. All the necessary vehicles and emergency services are available in the Diepholz district, which forms the basic requirement for the new structures. For counties with more than 200,000 inhabitants, such as Diepholz, there could even be the opportunity to set up two fire service.

Personnel deployment and financing

Each fire service is planned for 136 people, and five vehicles per train as well as three vehicles and two motorcyclists per management unit are to be provided. Marco Genthe from the FDP expressed skepticism about the implementation of the plans. With regard to the financing, district fire chief Michael Wessels said that the country's support was of crucial importance. A total of around six million euros are to be made available annually for the replacement of old fire engines.

The expectation is that each municipality will receive three to four new vehicles in the district. The district itself will decide which fire brigade is assigned which vehicles, but this process could extend over a period of up to ten years.

increasing number of operations and challenges

The need for such a reform is underlined by the current developments: In the first five months of 2023, the fire brigades in the Diepholz district have already moved out over 900 times. This included 370 technical assistance and 53 accidents with trapped people. In general, current statistics show that the fire brigades in Lower Saxony recorded more than 123,000 missions in 2022, which means an increase of 26,291 missions compared to 2021. Interior Minister Daniela Behrens and the state fire director Dieter Rohrberg attribute this increase to various factors, including the end of the corona restrictions and the effects of climate change.

In 2022, most of the forest fires were reported in Lower Saxony, the fire brigade was used about 450 times due to such fires. Behrens warned of future challenges in population protection and emphasized the importance of a functioning disaster protection. In April 2022, the state government initiated an ad hoc package to strengthen disaster protection with an investment volume of 40 million euros.

membership and new developments

The membership figures of the voluntary fire departments in Lower Saxony have also risen: for the first time, the total number exceeds 130,000, with 130,622 emergency services, which corresponds to an increase around 777 compared to the previous year. The proportion of women in the voluntary fire brigades has increased to 18,549, which is 14.2 percent of the total emergency services. The number of members of the children's and youth fire brigades have also grown, which indicates an increasing interest in the fire brigade.

In addition, numerous siren locations were modernized or rebuilt in order to be able to warn the population more effectively. The newly introduced telenotfall medicine program is also intended to establish modern rescue techniques in the country, based on successful testing in the Goslar district. The structural changes in the Ministry of the Interior and Sports from January 1, 2024 also represent an important course for disaster protection.