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150 years of fire brigade progress and spectacular operations: the history of the Berger fire brigade

2022-06-22T13:05:58.590Z


The Berg volunteer fire brigade is now 150 years old. Technological quantum leaps and unforgettable missions run through their history. A flashback to the anniversary.


The Berg volunteer fire brigade is now 150 years old.

Technological quantum leaps and unforgettable missions run through their history.

A flashback to the anniversary.

Berg – What has now existed for 150 years began with five men: A gardener, a shoemaker, a miller and two economists got together in 1872 and founded the Berg volunteer fire brigade.

They sealed their first major decision on March 25, 1873 – by signing a contract with the royal court extinguishing machine factory.

The "solidly built, properly fitted wagon with iron axles and a removable suction and pressure sprayer" cost 800 guilders.

That's what it says in the new chronicle of the fire brigade for the anniversary.

Your 150th coincides this year with the 1200th of the village of Berg and the 100th of MTV.

That's why a big festival weekend is planned from June 24th to 26th (we reported).

Within a few years, the five men - Josef Kagerbauer, Andreas Lang, Johann März, Georg Steigenberger and Christian Bader - became 45 comrades who were divided into climbers, top men and orderlies.

The First World War was to reduce the number of men back to 20 - and the Second World War brought a tragic, unforgettable mission.

On September 20, 1942 at around 12:45 a.m. three aerial mines hit Aufkirchen.

The sacristan's house right next to the church at the site of today's war memorial was completely destroyed.

The firefighters rushed to the site with 25 men, cared for the wounded, recovered the dead and brought livestock and inventory to safety.

Supported by comrades from Allmannshausen, Bachhausen, Percha and Starnberg, they provided civil protection service for four days.

A milestone in the technological development of the fire service is emblazoned on the title page of the chronicle: a bright red Bulli, the first fire engine of its own that the fire service purchased in 1958.

"Before that, we had a trailer that we had to push by hand," recalled former commander Georg Steigenberger in an interview with Merkur in 2020.

That year, the comrades had reactivated the oldtimer and transformed it into a mobile fire brigade museum.

It is used today at weddings and honoring members and of course as part of the anniversary celebrations.

The Bulli is currently parked in the depot of the building yard in Aufkirchen.

"But it's too humid there," says Chairman Philipp Mehlich.

A new location is being sought, preferably a dry garage.

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Driving fire brigade museum: Mathias Berger, Udo Wieser, Marius Leschik and Frederik Höbart (from left) reactivated their first fire engine from 1958, a bright red Bulli. 

© Andrea Jaksch

Just two years after purchasing the VW bus, the fire service moved into the vehicle hall at Aufkirchner Strasse 6, which was spacious by the standards of the time. "The building has reached its limits," says Mehlich today.

The demands on the fire brigade are now many times higher, the vehicles larger, the parking spaces too few, the equipment more and the training more intensive.

Planning and building a new fire station that lasts, as has been shown in other communities.

"You have to initiate the topic," says Mehlich.

Back to the story: In 1968, a fire fighting team from the Berg fire brigade celebrated a special success.

She was the first in the district to receive the performance badge in gold from District Administrator Dr.

Awarded to Rudolf Widmann.

That year, on January 11, there was also a major fire at a farm in Biberkor, "where the inadequate water supply turned out to be an obstacle to the extinguishing work," says the chronicle.

An extraordinary operation in 1978 is also remembered. A military vehicle loaded with rockets went off the road and overturned.

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State of the art in 1968: the mechanical turntable ladder of the Berger fire brigade.

© Fire Department

The fire station has been there since 1991 as we know it today.

At that time, the extension with a hose tower, two additional garages, a parlor ("Flori-Alm") and a classroom was completed.

There was also a hose washing system in the basement for all weirs in the community and a respiratory protection workshop.

The next technical quantum leap followed ten years later with the delivery of the turntable ladder DLK 18/12.

Since 2001, the comrades no longer have to hang in and adjust the basket by hand - it is computer-controlled.

Speaking of vehicles: the LF10, which has been in service since 2013, was also eagerly awaited.

The beginning of the 21st century brought the salvors several missions that they will probably still be talking about for many years to come.

On Sunday, May 23, 2004, the MS Starnberg crashed into the quay wall at Hotel Schloss Berg,

just four days after the inauguration of the new flagship of the Lake Fleet.

The fire brigade helped to rescue the 15 injured.

The roof truss fire of a listed villa in the district of Kempfenhausen in August 2012 was just as spectacular. Almost 100 firefighters fought the fire - and they helped the owner to save lots of art treasures and valuables from the building.

There wasn't much left to save at the Handwerkerhof, which burned down completely on May 20, 2018 in the Manthal district.

For more than a day, the firefighters also tracked down the last embers.

The association is now celebrating an anniversary with around 170 members.

Remarkable: This number has been stable for years.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-06-22

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