For years, the Berlin fire brigade has had to declare a state of emergency more and more frequently, and the rescue workers are pushing themselves to the limit. A comment from BZ editor Katharina Metag.
Only one available ambulance for the entire city and almost four million Berliners. No horror scenario, but bitter reality on Tuesday evening. According to the authorities only for a few minutes. But minutes that make the difference between life and death.
The forces in the rescue service regularly drive to the limit. The fire brigade regularly runs in a state of emergency, unnoticed by most Berliners.
Then there are hardly any ambulances available. This is the result of the constant Senate austerity policies At the beginning of the noughties and the incorrect structuring of the authority. More and more highly paid chiefs and fewer and fewer Indians who ruin their health for cheap wages, give up time with their families and risk their lives to protect ours.
We urgently need investments in training and wages instead of saving until it crashes!