Why no firefighting helicopter is used

By Hans-Wilhelm Saure and Peter Amenda

It was requested early on. Hours later the cancellation. The emergency services in Berlin’s Grunewald forest cannot count on a fire-fighting helicopter from the Bundeswehr. Such is currently not available due to the forest fire in Saxony, said a fire department spokesman.

Unlike in Hesse. A large piece of forest burned near Hambach Castle on Wednesday. From the air, the firefighters received support from a fire-fighting helicopter.

Meanwhile, firefighters in Berlin are fighting their way towards the fire.

The fire brigade started extinguishing work within the security zone around the blast site in Grunewald late Thursday afternoon. That said fire department spokesman Thomas Kirstein.

“The restricted area of ​​1000 meters remains in place. But it is possible that we as a fire brigade can now work in certain areas up to 500 meters,” said Kirstein. “That means some of the extinguishing work has already started.” The extinguishing water had already been provided in advance.

“Every minute that we don’t hear detonations or something happening at the blast site is a good time for us,” Kirstein said. “We will now be able to use the fire brigade’s forces in parts up to 500 meters away.” The Bundeswehr is supporting the fire brigade by creating aisles in the forest from which extinguishing work can then be carried out. “It can be assumed that the fire will not go beyond the 1000-meter exclusion zone,” said the fire department spokesman.

“We’ve pushed forward with all our might, but that’s a drop in the bucket,” Kirstein said.

Why isn’t a fire-fighting helicopter used in Berlin?

The fire expert Lindon Pronto says to the BZ: “At the moment several helicopters are busy with post-extinguishing work, although in my opinion the priority should be on the first attack to prevent another fire from getting bigger.”

How many firefighting helicopters are there in Germany? The chairman of the forest fire working group in the German Fire Brigade Association, Ulrich Cimolino, says to the BZ: “I don’t know. Probably no one knows that at the moment.”

In 2019, the then president of the fire brigade association called for the purchase of more firefighting helicopters in Germany. Has this requirement been implemented?

Forest fire expert Cimolino: “Unfortunately no. We don’t want our own fire-fighting helicopters or planes, we just want to get air support faster and easier. And, of course, civil defense helicopters could finally be procured in such a way that they can also be used sensibly in disaster control and civil defense.”

In Berlin’s Grunewald there has been a fire since the early hours of the morning around a police detonation site. According to the police, around 25 tons of fireworks or World War II ammunition, among other things, are stored there. Experts usually render them harmless there.

Due to the danger of explosions, the fire brigade has not yet been able to advance to the source of the fire. The fire brigade has drawn a safety radius of 1000 meters around the detonation site.

“The safety radius of 1000 meters in Berlin now applies not only on the ground but also in the air. What else arrives on the ground from the height at the temperatures? What you could possibly do: use protected helicopters. But the Bundeswehr has to evaluate this with the explosive ordnance clearance service,” says forest fire expert Cimolino to the BZ

Forest fire expert Pronto: “Obviously we need more centralized coordination of airborne assets, and we need more capabilities for preparedness at times of high fire risk. With 16 federal states all going their own way, it is very difficult to react quickly and effectively.”

No fire brigade in Germany has its own fire-fighting helicopters, they would be requested from the federal police or the armed forces, according to Cimolino. These are much more flexible and multifunctional than firefighting aircraft.

Permanent topic of fire-fighting aircraft

For years there has been talk about whether Germany should buy fire-fighting aircraft. Whether it makes sense. The American Lindon Pronto himself was in action in forest fires in the USA. And has a clear opinion on the subject.

Expert Pronto: “There seems to be a handful of influential voices in Germany who are fundamentally opposed to the use of fire-fighting aircraft. From the justifications I’ve heard, they lack experience and a clear understanding of aircraft capabilities. All countries that can afford it use aircraft as a firefighting tool. You have to ask yourself what all these other countries are doing wrong, what Germany is doing right.”

The Brandenburg State Fire Brigade Association hopes that in a few years, extinguishing drones will also be used in forest fires in areas polluted by ammunition.

“We are eagerly awaiting this variant,” said the vice president of the association, Frank Kliem. So far, aerial firefighting in Germany has mostly been carried out by helicopter.

“My great hope is that we will have drones that can take extinguishing water,” said Kliem. However, it could still be several years before these aircraft, which are under development, can be used for extinguishing. According to him, the drones should be able to hold several hundred liters of water. So far, drones with cameras have been used to monitor forest fires in Brandenburg.