Does Germany need fire-fighting aircraft? Or should the federal government primarily procure more helicopters that can drop water over burning forests and fields? Some think that a less bureaucratic administrative assistance procedure would be a good first step.
Berlin – The forest fires of the past few weeks have triggered a controversy in the traffic light coalition about the investments in civil protection agreed in the coalition agreement. The FDP advocates the purchase of fire-fighting aircraft and calls for more commitment from Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) to expanding resources for fighting forest fires. The rapporteur for the Greens for civil protection, Leon Eckert, believes that participation in the EU fire-fighting fleet would be right for reasons of solidarity.
There are no publicly owned fire-fighting aircraft in Germany. If states and municipalities need aerial support for vegetation fires, they ask for administrative assistance so that the Bundeswehr or the federal police can send helicopters with water tanks. For example, last June the federal police said they dropped more than 235,000 liters of water with ten of their helicopters in Saxony and Brandenburg.
The North Rhine-Westphalian police aviation squadron is one of the few in Germany equipped with attachable external load containers for forest fire fighting, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) reports on request. But here too, if the helicopters were needed for police tasks, they could not be requested for firefighting.
“Better arm yourself for fighting forest fires”
“The dry periods of the last few weeks with numerous forest and wildfires have clearly shown that we in Germany have to be better equipped to fight forest fires,” says Carina Konrad, deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group. This affects the local fire departments in particular. Rapid support from the air is also important.
When asked a few days ago, the Federal Ministry of the Interior emphasized that responsibility for disaster and fire protection lies with the federal states and municipalities. They are therefore responsible for providing suitable concepts and resources. The federal government can only support the fight against forest fires – for example with helicopters from the federal police and the armed forces – “within the scope of the current availability”.
In Germany, responsibility for civil protection lies with the federal states. The federal government is responsible for civil protection – i.e. the protection of civilians in the event of war or tension. The BBK’s 18 civil defense helicopters are made available to the federal states in times of peace and are primarily used to transport the sick and injured. They are not equipped to fight fires, even if that would be possible in principle.
“The insistence on responsibilities does not do justice to the important task,” criticizes Konrad. She demands: “In the planned reform of civil protection, the challenges of forest fires must also be taken into account by the Federal Minister of the Interior.” The structures at the various levels of government must be better networked, for example by standardizing training and technical equipment. The fact that the fire brigades are dependent on administrative assistance from the Bundeswehr when fighting fires from the air often costs valuable time.
Discussed “for hours” about the requested helicopter
The chairman of the forest fire working group in the German Fire Brigade Association, Ulrich Cimolino, confirms this. In an interview with the dpa in Düsseldorf, he said on Friday that it often happens that a piece of forest or a field is already in flames over a large area and yet “for hours”. a requested helicopter had to be discussed. The processes here need to be improved.
As agreed in the coalition agreement, Germany should actively participate in the European fire-fighting aircraft and helicopter fleet of the rescEU initiative, demands Konrad. The fleet of this EU initiative for civil protection currently includes twelve fire-fighting aircraft and one helicopter. In an emergency, these can also be made available to other member states of the European Union. So far, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Croatia have participated with aircraft.
The coalition agreement between the SPD, Greens and FDP states: “We will develop nationwide prevention and control strategies and expand forest fire fighting options on the ground and from the air, also within the framework of the rescEU mechanism.”
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, experts in a working group chaired by the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian Ministry of the Interior have spoken out against the purchase of aircraft and in favor of using helicopters to fight forest fires. Among other things, this is cheaper, and helicopters also offer a wide range of other possible uses. Eckert, a member of the Greens in the Bundestag, says that the use of helicopters is absolutely indispensable. Nevertheless, in his view, Germany should acquire one or two fire-fighting aircraft, which should be stationed in the north.
From there it would not be far to the sea in the event of a large forest fire. Because one of the reasons given by the BBK against the acquisition of such aircraft is that “in Germany there are not enough suitable lakes for taking in water when flying past”. dpa
