The fire station in Wolfratshausen is in great need of renovation.
The vehicle hall and equipment store were last renovated in the 1990s, since then there has been a traffic jam.
During a tour of the premises, Commander Andreas Spohn shows the grossest shortcomings.
Wolfratshausen - The fire brigade equipment house on Hatzplatz is in great need of renovation.
Recently there was repeatedly talk of a possible move of the rescue workers to a new location.
According to reports, the city had already found a suitable plot of land.
But the plans came to nothing.
Against this background, the city council initially provided 100,000 euros for renovation measures.
Andreas Spohn, Commander of the Wolfratshausen Voluntary Fire Brigade, showed our newspaper the most serious defects in the tool shed.
The building with the postal address Am Bach 1 is showing its age.
A new administration wing was created in 2006, but the vehicle garage and storage rooms have remained untouched for around 30 years.
But over the past three decades, the demands on fire services have grown immensely.
The vehicle fleet and technical equipment have been gradually expanded - the tool shed is now bursting at the seams.
"We have to shift regularly to get everything under," reports Spohn as he paves his way through the narrow aisle between the emergency vehicles and the work equipment.
The fire brigade was able to store some of their equipment in rented garages in the adjacent neighborhood - but that hardly helped to ease the situation.
The emergency services have to change in the blind spot of the personnel carriers
In terms of construction, Commander Spohn would like to see changes.
In the event of an alarm, the emergency services have to change in the vehicle hall.
Their metal lockers are currently just behind the vehicles - their engines are started immediately in an emergency.
This situation is doubly dangerous: on the one hand there are the exhaust gases, on the other hand the crew is in the driver's blind spot.
Engineer Stephan Rudolph also criticized this deficiency, who a good two years ago created a fire service requirements plan on behalf of the municipality (we reported).
"We urgently need another solution here, perhaps our own changing rooms," says Spohn.
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Moving in the exhaust fumes: The active crew's lockers are located directly behind the car due to lack of space
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
Obstacles on the ground are an additional risk
In the opinion of the commander, this could solve a second problem right away, because the way the volunteers to their lockers is like an obstacle course at the moment: In the middle of the room, roughly in the middle of the vehicles to behind the exhaust of the emergency vehicles, there are suction hoses for every parking space the vehicles on the ground.
"If it's stressful and you don't pay attention, you can quickly fall over it." An acute danger for the volunteers - even before they arrive at the actual site.
Spohn would like to mention that the devices attached to the floor do not work optimally.
When leaving the tool shed, the next risky maneuvers await the fire fighters: In the worst case scenario, the emergency services arriving in their private cars and the first fire engines that have already deployed meet at Hatzplatz.
Not to forget: There are only seven parking spaces at the tool shed.
"If we need 20 or 30 people for an operation, there is of course a lack of parking spaces," says Spohn.
There is no solution to the tricky traffic situation
The traffic situation at Hatzplatz is tricky per se and a solution is currently not in sight.
In the 146-page fire brigade requirements plan, the author Rudolph stated that the location of the tool shed was suboptimal.
According to the Bavarian Fire Brigade Act, no more than ten minutes must elapse between the emergency call and the arrival of the rescue workers at the scene.
This deadline can hardly be observed when driving to the southernmost corner in the Waldram district.
Therefore - and in view of the presumably very expensive renovations in the tool shed on Hatzplatz - the municipality started looking for a new home for the larger of the two local fire departments.
The planned new building is off the table - negotiations about a new plot of land have burst
In the city budget for 2020, 3.4 million euros were planned for a property purchase.
However, the money was not spent.
“The negotiations with a property owner failed,” explains Mayor Klaus Heilinglechner when asked by our newspaper.
It is not likely that a new fire station building will be built in the near future.
For the town hall chief, however, the topic has "not been settled in principle".
If an opportunity "arises that is also financially viable", it could be explored.
At the moment, however, there is no suitable plot of land available for the special purpose.
In any case, new buildings of the size necessary for the fire brigade in a central location in the densely populated Loisachstadt are hardly feasible.
It is good that there is a willingness to tackle the issues "
Andreas Spohn on the city council's decision to tackle the renovation
In the budget for 2021, the city council has set 100,000 euros for renovation measures on the fire equipment gun house.
A specialist planner should first develop the catalog of measures.
“It is good that there is willingness to tackle the issues,” says Commander Spohn.
In the past few years, many ideas have matured, "how to solve some problems", now it has to be checked what is feasible and, last but not least, financially.
The modernization of the completely outdated electronics in the building and the installation of a fire alarm system are top priorities for Spohn.
New turntable ladder is bought - because the old one went on strike twice
It has already been decided to upgrade the IT systems of the two local fire brigades.
The city council also approved the purchase of an emergency fire fighting group vehicle - in short: HLF.
In addition, the purchase of a new turntable ladder is preferred.
The existing one is built in 1999 and had already failed twice during an operation last year.
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Out of time: The control box in the fire station has the character of a museum
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
