Enlarge image
Firefighter Toni Schulze: "You can hardly prepare for such operations"
Photo: private
“I've been on the job since day one.
We work around the clock, in 12-hour shifts.
The day shifts often last longer because we start early in the morning and only drive home with the last light to get as much work done in the forest as possible.
Right now I'm in the operational area.
The situation here remains tense.
We still have a lot of work ahead of us.
In my section there are currently three fire engines with 80 emergency services trying to get to the last source of the fire.
We were able to contain the spread, now we are trying to extinguish the embers, some of which have eaten up to half a meter deep into the forest floor.
In this way we rob the fire of its basis.
I'm currently doing the reconnaissance.
My job is to find these embers and pass the information on to the operation and section management.
Together we will examine what measures we can still take.
My local knowledge is an advantage: Saxon Switzerland is a challenging area, there are many gorges and crevasses where the fire blazes.
We have to make sure that the emergency services don't have any accidents there.
This is one of the reasons why we take additional units of paramedics and the mountain rescue service into the area.
Nevertheless, something can always happen.
Because the territory here is so diverse, you can hardly prepare for such missions.
Also, this is not a normal forest fire.
The area that caught fire here is enormous.
95 percent of the people who are here work on a voluntary basis, be it with the fire brigade, the mountain rescue service, the THW or the catering teams of the DRK and ASB.
We are all missing from our everyday jobs at the moment, our work is supported by our colleagues.
You've got our backs.
We look out for each other during operations: It is important that everyone drinks enough and takes breaks.
We take drinks and a packed lunch with us to the operational area, and the supply teams will also bring us supplies if necessary.
Our goal is that throughout the day everyone can go to the quiet area and eat.
The emergency services, for example, who are constantly standing at the jet pipe.
Because we need the strength to keep working.
After so many days on the job, you naturally get tired at some point, yes, and also physically exhausted.
But you put that away somehow.
We'll keep going until the fire is out.
We still have to fight here for so long.
We're not going home before then."
