Especially for young members, the volunteer fire department of herzogenaurach again held a so-called 24-hour training session. The participants, among others the members of the youth fire department, should get to know the everyday life and the various operations of a fictitious guard of a professional fire department.
It started at 9 a.M., when the participants were allowed to line up and were distributed among the emergency vehicles. While the group leaders were preparing the operation sites, there was already a real operation for the "rough" in between. Then followed some smaller training operations and of course also theoretical knowledge was imparted. The busy schedule ensured that the participants in the exercise did not really get any rest.
Chlorine accident in swimming pool
At 3 p.M., the first "major operation" took place in the zweifelsheim district of herzogenaurach. A gas explosion was reported at an agricultural facility. When the emergency vehicles arrived, the residents reported that three people were missing. Two people were eventually found in the smoke-filled barn under parts of a trunk and brought out into the open. The third person was hidden under a log splitter and freed by means of lifting bags.
Shortly after returning to the station, the following was reported: "pungent odor in the atlantis recreational pool, probably chlorine gas leakage". This operation was very extensive, again three people were missing, which were then found in the vast technical rooms under the baths.
The situation was made more difficult by the fact that an unknown but presumably poisonous liquid was leaking out and gas was also flowing out. First, the rescue of people was carried out under respiratory protection. Afterwards, the emergency workers checked the premises with chemical protection suits and carried out measurements. The outflowing substance was determined via the operations center.
Long preparation
At the same time as the chemical protection suits were deployed, an "emergency decontamination point" was set up erected in order to clean the task forces. The league deliberately refrained from using specialists, because this was the way in which this theme was purposefully.
Of course, the "classic operations" were also on display on the agenda. Vehicle fire, traffic accident and a classic barn fire had to be dealt with. After each mission, it was analyzed and possible errors, communication and time problems were addressed. The observers confirmed a very good cooperation of the groups as well as with the youth fire department, which took away a lot of new knowledge after these 24 hours.
For the participants, the last exercise marked the end of a very instructive day. In order for this day to take place, a team had put a lot of thought into organizing the exercises in advance. From the participants' point of view, this day not only contributed to training, but also strengthened the camaraderie within and between the groups.
The volunteer fire departments are experiencing not only the decline in the birth rate but also the increased demands of school and work. Therefore, we are always looking for interested girls and boys who would like to spend their free time in a real community.