According to the findings of the fire department, rescue services and civil protection, the use of aircraft for emergency response in Germany urgently needs to be improved. In particular, helicopters, drones and fixed-wing aircraft need to be better integrated in terms of mission tactics and communications.
In a joint position paper, the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) and the German Fire Brigades Association (DFV) provide advice on appropriate regulations. According to vfdb President Dirk Aschenbrenner and DFV President Karl-Heinz Banse, the aim is to provide assistance for the deployment of fire departments and other participants in hazard prevention, both for everyday use and for preparation.
Recent forest and vegetation fires
A simplification of the requirement paths and alignment of the cost structures
"The use of aircraft in hazard prevention, especially in area situations, but also in unusual events in exposed areas, is more topical than ever," emphasize DFV and vfdb. This was particularly evident during the heavy rainfall disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia last year. But also the recent forest and vegetation fires had shown the deficits.
In a seven-point catalog, the two organizations demand, for example, a simplification of the requirement paths and alignment of the cost structures, which - as they say - "must in no case be to the detriment of smaller communities in particular."
Emergency services and task forces
Furthermore, it is necessary that the request for the first one or two aircraft, for example, helicopters for human rescue with winch or with external load containers for firefighting support from the air, becomes possible for the first officer-in-charge quickly, easily and directly via his responsible control center.
The possibilities and limits of deployment would also have to be part of the training
According to the experts, the possibilities for cooperation and utilization of all operators, both in the air and among the emergency services and task forces on the ground, must also be improved. The possibilities and limits of deployment would also have to be part of training. "This requires the expansion of training positions, which have been far too few to date, and further opportunities must be created," the position paper suggests.
Operations for hazard prevention
Other EU countries, such as France, which has taken on the central training and advanced training role in aircraft operations for hazard prevention in Europe with its civil defense school in Valabre, are cited as possible role models.
Another criticism is that the federal government's civil defense helicopters are currently used
Multi-purpose helicopters are the only means by which people can be rescued from absolute emergencies, according to DFV and vfdb findings. "We need so many of them that we can deploy the necessary help from the air anywhere in Germany in a sufficiently short time," they demand. Another criticism is that the federal government's civil defense helicopters are currently used almost exclusively as rescue helicopters. "This is not appropriate to the meaning of the word and is also not sufficient for this purpose," it says verbatim. Currently, it is a rather smaller type of helicopter (EC or H 135) with very limited capabilities, it said. However, any civil defense helicopter must be useful in disaster control and extended emergency response and must also be capable of operating at high altitudes and in poor visibility conditions.
Data transmission to the ground forces
Among other things, the helicopter must be capable of transporting at least 2,000 liters of water as an external load and be able to accommodate at least six fully equipped emergency personnel and other equipment, as well as being able to immediately deploy a winch to rescue people from endangered situations. In addition, the possibility of transporting recumbent patients with the appropriate emergency medical equipment and the possibility of generating image data both as video and infrared with data transmission to the ground forces are named as necessary.
As "not goal-prominent" the position paper calls for Germany the employ fire-fighting airplanes, since they can be used only in a few of the task areas.