The Ukraine war, the corona pandemic and everyday problems in the city: there was a lot more work for the Munich fire brigade last year.
One day will be remembered for a particularly long time.
There are things that cannot be imagined.
Just like the events of August 20, 2022, when everything came together for the fire department.
At 6 a.m. the sauna area of the Prinzregentenbad was on fire.
One major sporting event followed the next as part of the European Championships.
At the same time, tens of thousands of people made their way to the fair to see Helene Fischer's concert.
Then a violent thunderstorm raged over the city and caused dangerous flooding.
Even subway stations were full.
Chief fire director Wolfgang Schäuble is looking for the right words and says: "This day was... very demanding".
A big task that the fire brigade mastered.
In technical jargon, days with so many simultaneous missions are called "complex situations".
And they are becoming more and more part of everyday life for the rescuers.
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Difficult mission: the fire in the Prinzregentenbad in August 2022.
© Fire Department Munich
A time in which a lot happened, there were many upheavals.
Keyword Ukraine war.
Not only did it bring thousands of refugees to Munich in 2022, it also led to a rethink of civil protection.
According to Hanna Sammüller-Gradl, head of the district administration department, recent experiences have brought concrete innovations to the city.
For example, with spontaneous help.
Many Munich residents wanted to support people from Ukraine in the spring of 2022, but did not have a central contact person.
That is now different: Now there is a coordination office.
With regard to civil protection, according to Sammüller-Gradl, the focus has been on alerting citizens in recent months, the same applies to disaster control and energy supply.
To secure the latter
Great support from colleagues in the volunteer fire brigade
In addition to new socio-political challenges, the fire brigade is also concerned with everyday work.
And there was enough of that last year, as Schäuble explained.
“The numbers have gone up.” For example, with the emergency calls, of which 1.16 million were received by the control center.
The professional fire brigade was called out 99,492 times for specific operations.
That's eleven percent more than in 2021. There were 7,748 fire alarms and 1,475 confirmed fires.
Among them were eleven major fires - such as the extremely difficult operation at the Prinzregentenbad.
Schäuble: "It was very hot there, everything was contained."
A great support for the rescuers is and remains the voluntary fire brigade with 1150 colleagues who have gone out to 3250 missions.
Good news for everyone: as of June, eight new so-called small alarm vehicles will be on the roads.
These are enormously helpful, among other things, when rescuing animals.
Why?
Because they are like rolling tool boxes.
