Herrsching municipality and fire brigade continue to demand a replacement for the 34-year-old disaster control boat. Currently there is still a high level of funding - but probably not for long.
Herrsching - 34 years ago, in 1986, organizations all over Bavaria and thus Herrsching's fire brigade were assigned so-called civil protection boats. The Herrschinger Boot is still in use today, but can give up the ghost overnight. The weir has been fighting for a replacement boat for years, but falls into a gap in responsibility.
About four years ago, a special funding program from the Free State came into force that would finance 75 percent of a new boat. "A replacement procurement costs about 100,000 euros," calculated Christian Schiller at the annual general meeting of the Herrsching volunteer fire brigade. The community would participate because it saw an advantage for its citizens, Schiller assured. And it became clear about two weeks ago at the latest when two men almost drowned at Seewinkel (we reported). In the currently cramped conditions of the old hut, the alarmed water watch took too long to make her lifeboat clear. "The rescue center only alarmed the water watch and the fire department's first responders," Schiller was surprised. The fire brigade's catastrophe is on the trailer and in “three minutes at the scene,” he criticized the control center for the non-alarming of the fire department.
"We had the same problem with a drowning person on the steamer dock," said Schiller. In this case, the person concerned was not far from the bank and could be pulled out. That alone shows the need for a replacement of the fire engine. "I am sure that the municipal councilors would contribute EUR 12,000."
Criticism of the "unclear jurisdiction"
That left around 12,000 euros for the district of Starnberg, nowadays responsible for civil protection. "Feasible with a district budget of 170 million euros," said Schiller. But the district is blocking itself. The reason? "The unclear responsibility," said Commandant Daniel Pleyer. “As a community-free area, the Ammersee belongs to the administration of the Landsberg district. This in turn is not responsible for the Herrsching fire department, and the boat is on a trailer in the district of the Starnberg district, ”Pleyer summarized. Why not use the Herrsching water guard's boat? Pleyer: "The water rescue service is a rescue service and is solely responsible for rescuing people and capsized boats." The fire brigade, on the other hand, is also deployed in the event of flooding, oil damage or the fire of a steamship in maritime shipping. "Usually a fire breaks out in the engine room, then the captain can no longer steer the ship to the shore," the commander emphasized the need for an own civil protection boat.
"Elfi", as the boat is called, has been used 127 times since 1986. 25 times with oil on water, seven times to help drowning swimmers, six times with fire fighting, 32 times with a missing person search and 33 times with a capsized sailboat. "This is an amount of EUR 12,000," said Pleyer. And if the district doesn't swing in soon, the funding could expire and talk about completely different sums, warn the Herrschinger rescuers.
Michèle Kirner
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