Bernau under storm: Fire brigade fights against trees and thunderstorms!

Bernau under storm: Fire brigade fights against trees and thunderstorms!

This week the volunteer fire department in Bernau had a lot of work on the front lines. A windy low hit the city earlier in the week, keeping emergency services on their toes. Fire chief Jörg Erdmann said that Bernau was lucky - the oppressive thunderstorm cells only touched the city, but there were still numerous broken branches and falling trees. The final clean-up work after the thunderstorms took place on Thursday evening. “It was a busy week for us,” said Erdmann.

Monday was particularly exciting when the storm “Ziros” led to 34 missions in Bernau. The following Thursday evening, the firefighters had to work again after further thunderstorms hit the region and triggered 23 calls. These came at the same time, which led to all the guards being alerted. To ensure smooth coordination, a technical operations management team was set up in the city's fire department.

Alert and first operations

To prepare for the stormy conditions, firefighters have issued advance warnings. Storm “Zeynep” was on its way to Bernau and the first storm-related operations were not long in coming. All available emergency services from the Bernau fire department were called to central coordination, including Mayor André Stahl, who thanked the firefighters directly for their commitment and wished them a quiet night.

There was an official storm warning on Friday evening, predicting wind speeds of up to 115 km/h in exposed areas. Citizens were asked not to stay in parks or forests and to secure loose items. These precautionary measures take up considerable space, particularly in view of recent experiences with extreme weather situations, such as the heavy rains in July 2021, which caused flooding in various regions of Germany, or the hurricane “Friederike” in 2018, which left many households without power.

A remarkable record

Overall, the emergency services worked up a lot of sweat during the week. In the Barnim district, the fire brigade and THW counted over 306 missions on Thursday. By Saturday morning, the number had already grown to about 450, with a focus on fallen trees and snapped power and telephone lines. In the neighboring community of Wandlitz, the volunteer fire department from Bernau helped with an aerial rescue vehicle until the early hours of the morning.

“From the fire department’s perspective, the operations went smoothly,” reported Erdmann, who warmly thanked all the emergency services. A clear success story amid the challenges that the weather brought with it and which impressively shows how important it is to prepare for natural forces. The state assistance systems cannot help everywhere at the same time in large-scale damage situations, as have often occurred in the past. It is all the more important that citizens can act on their own responsibility until government help arrives.