District fire inspector Ludwig Fernsemmer will probably never forget this use of blue lights for the rest of his life. He actually wanted to celebrate his 65th birthday in a relaxed atmosphere on Saturday. He has his second family – the fire department family – to thank for the fact that things turned out differently.
Peiting – The coffee table in the Fernsemmer house is set. The candles are burning, the bottle of champagne is waiting to be uncorked. Then the noise that goes through your bones. Ludwig Fernsemmer's radio alarm receiver is triggered. The district fire inspector is facing a mission on his last day in this official role. As with all alarms, he wants to rush towards the garage, where his car is always ready for use. But then an acoustic follow-up from the control center: He should just move onto the street and stay calm.
Now “Luggi” is irritated. “Is it all just a bad joke?” The district fire inspector moves the few meters onto Schönriedlstrasse. His wife Christiane and the rest of the family are in tow. The birthday child slowly begins to suspect what is coming to him.
As if lined up on a string of pearls, one emergency vehicle after another drives up. In front there are two emergency vehicles with police, behind them a turntable ladder and everything that has a blue light on the roof. “He could have imagined anything, but something like that... unthinkable,” Fernsemmer would later remark. Handshakes, lots of hugs, more congratulations. And a radiant Fernsemmer in the middle of it all.
He will later reveal that he thought they would all move on again now. But far from it. The coffee table at Fernsemmer's house ends abruptly and the door to the driver's cab of the turntable ladder is opened by driver Norbert Socher. The “KBI” has to get in, Peiting’s commander Klaus Straub gives the order. The convoy starts moving. Roughly towards “Hauptplatz” is the order of the day. The blue lights are activated, after all this is an operation. Then the St. Martin's horns sound, basically organ music for television. Spectators remain standing, something like that doesn't happen every day.
What Fernsemmer doesn't know yet is how many vehicles joined the convoy. He only realizes this when he gets out at the fire station and watches the parade there. Fernsemmer waves, gives a thumbs up, is overwhelmed. But he doesn't get to count. The head of the Schongau police, Herbert Kieweg, helps him. He counted 35 vehicles. It is impressive that emergency vehicles from THW, BRK and the police also joined in. The final line is the nostalgic fire engine from Prem, which still bears the license plate SOG-C 39.
District fire chief Uwe Wieland from Schongau is of course among the emergency services. He spent two months preparing the entire operation. In plain language, this means that he brought all the district commanders on board for this special operation, as well as the district fire inspectors from the neighboring districts. “Thank God all 32 commanders kept tight in advance,” said Wieland. “That’s why the surprise was a perfect success,” he adds. As his comrades know, he will succeed Fernsemmer as district fire inspector.
By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Schongau newsletter.