How many sirens does it take?
When will it be too many?
In which cases should citizens be alerted and in which not?
Too many unanswered questions for the Wartenberg market council to make a decision about the purchase.
Wartenberg – The end of the Cold War meant that the sirens were gradually dismantled in Germany.
Now, more than three decades later, that's boomerang.
Against the background of flood disasters such as in the Ahr valley or the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the communities are currently thinking more about action plans for emergencies - and about the purchase or repair of sirens.
There was also a debate on this in the Wartenberg market council.
How many sirens does it take?
When will it be too many?
In which cases should citizens be alerted and in which not?
Questions like these preoccupied the panel so much that it postponed the decision.
There is still too much need for clarification, a decision should then be made in six months.
According to the town hall, concepts for setting up a siren infrastructure have already been drawn up and tested using simulations and siren tests.
From the point of view of the municipal administration, at least three locations in the main town with 600-watt sirens are needed in order to be able to proceed across the board.
In addition, a device is needed in Pesenlern, Auerbach, Thenn and in the Thenn industrial park.
According to this calculation, there would be a total of seven sirens.
Wartenberg's commander, Martin Stöckl, had submitted a three-page statement from the fire brigade before the deliberations.
According to him, there is currently no need for sirens to alert his troops.
The emergency services would be notified via analogue message receivers and an additional alarm with the "FF Agent" program.
As reported, the end of 2023, beginning of 2024 should be switched to digital.
"This conversion would not result in any improvement and no further fallback level with sirens," summarizes Stöckl, who also emphasizes that sirens are basically "still an established warning device with a wake-up effect".
"They are particularly useful where the population needs to be warned very quickly due to a particular potential risk." According to Stöckl, however, sirens are only part of an overall warning concept.
Because: The acoustic signal must be supplemented by specific information and recommendations for action via radio, TV, warning apps or websites.
Stöckl also addressed emergency concepts (see box).
As reported, the municipality of Oberding already has such a paper with a clear course of action in the event of a blackout, and Berglern is also following suit.
Brain power is also already being used for this in Wartenberg, according to Mayor Christian Pröbst, district fire inspector Lorenz Huber is due to call in soon.
The commander of the Oberdinger Wehr set up the concept there in consultation with the municipality.
Which alarm is useful when? That's what the fire brigade commander says
The municipality must think carefully about the cases in which it wants to warn: This is what Wartenberg's fire brigade commander Martin Stöckl writes in his statement to the market council on the subject of sirens and public warnings.
In the event of a flood, the Mobela, i.e. a mobile electronic loudspeaker system, is sufficient for Stöckl's taste.
Oberding and Wartenberg have already purchased one of these themselves, and the district has three in Niederding, Hofkirchen and Grüntegernbach.
The city of Erding also has a Mobela.
The commander considers warning apps such as Katwarn to be useful for events such as storms or heavy rain, but the warning here is not tailored precisely enough to the respective local areas.
Sirens are not helpful in this regard.
Stöckl also sees mobile devices and apps as useful for bomb disposal, major fires and toxic clouds of smoke.
In the event that air raids hopefully never occur, "the establishment of a nationwide siren infrastructure will be the quickest and most effective means of choice," says Stöckl, who also addresses drinking water pollution and nationwide power failure as scenarios for which larger-scale emergency concepts are needed (see also main text).
mass
"I'm basically not against sirens," said FDP Councilor Nikolaus Hintermaier.
However, he warned against installing too many and alarming too often - because of the volume.
"It's not funny when this starts," he said.
For example, the sirens are not needed for the fire brigade or in the event of floods, said Pröbst.
2. Mayor Carla Marx (Neue Mitte), active in neighborhood help, also focused on the refugees in the area.
You don't know what triggers the siren alarm in you.
According to Pröbst, the municipality has already submitted an application for funding.
Around 155,000 euros would be due for seven sirens, of which the municipality would only have to shell out a good third itself.
There are currently no sirens in Wartenberg - after they were dismantled in the 1990s, as disaster control officer Franz Ganslmaier (FWG) reported.
In contrast to other council colleagues, he considered the purchase of all seven sirens to be sensible.
Mobelas are good, but not enough on their own.
“They drive through the village at walking speed.
It takes three or four hours with the outskirts," said Ganslmaier.
Dominik Rutz (Greens) found that sirens were “basically a good thing.
With our budget, 55,000 euros is a bit much at the moment."
And Eduard Ertl (Neue Mitte) said: "I think it's a bit oversized." The test alarm recently arrived on his cell phone, and the sound propagation of sirens depends on the wind direction.
He addressed the loud rehearsal alarms on Saturdays that you hear from the neighborhood - "and then we'd have seven of these things.
.
.” Ertl continues: “We are also covered with other media.
We haven't needed sirens for the last 30 years.”
In conclusion, Pröbst said: "We don't have to rush anything now.
Many communities want to buy sirens, but haven't decided on anything yet."