24 hours in Kerkrade

EMRIC live

24 hours in Kerkrade

Hello, my name is Tino (second from the right in the photo) and I am 43 years old. I work at the fire station in Herzogenrath, Germany.

As part of my training for career group 2.1, I completed my internship at the StädteRegion Aachen in the project group for the reorientation of civil protection.

Here, I gained insight into cross-border cooperation in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion through the various organisations.

During a working group meeting of EMRIC, a colleague from the South Limburg Safety Region in the Netherlands offered me an internship day at the fire station in Kerkrade.

Of course, I did not want to miss this offer and so on 26.01.23, I started my 24-hour shift at the Kerkrade fire station punctually at 07:00.

A total of six colleagues were on duty that day and when I noticed that I could communicate well in German and "platt", I was quite relieved.

Our daily routine was well structured and we started at 9 am with sports in a nearby gym.

This was followed by work in the various parts of the organisation, where I actively supported my colleagues. There was also time for personal exchanges. As in any fire station, we had to decide what to eat and who would cook.

Let me put it this way, Germany lost by a narrow margin (6:1) and so we quickly agreed on schnitzel with fries and onion sauce.

I was told that the meal would be ready at 5pm and everyone wanted to help prepare it. Not sure if it had anything to do with my lunch, it was canned mashed potatoes.

Preparations were in full swing and the schnitzels were already breaded when we read on the alarm monitor that there was a house fire in Heerlen and several units had already been alerted. The first colleagues got nervous and my support for cooking waned, the porto was switched on and after 2 minutes I was alone in the kitchen. Now I realised why, the fire alarm in the barracks went off.

In the vehicle, they explained to me that the fire in the flat had become a major fire and the alarm level had been raised.

At the scene, it was a large flat fire on the 6th floor. The main task was to evacuate the house and fight the fire. The fire officer on duty (OvD) held a briefing with all OvDs of the other services present to discuss further measures. Fortunately for me, the HOvD (chief officer) was also at the scene of the incident, so he had time to explain all the actions and operational structures to me. I was told that he was on site to support the OvD in the background, and that if the situation worsened, he would automatically become the head of operations (police and ambulance service).

After more than 1.5 hours, the mission was over for the colleagues from Kerkrade and we headed for the fire station. After 2 minutes in the vehicle, we were given a new assignment, also in Heerlen, where we were reported a kitchen fire.

At the scene, the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services colleagues and ventilation measures were then taken.

Around 21:00 we were back at the post and hunger was enormous, so dinner was quickly prepared with all the men and we could then eat in peace.

After dinner, we quickly cleaned up and then tried to get some sleep, or at least that was the plan.

Around 22:30, the fire alarm went off again and we received another report of a flat fire in a high-rise building in Heerlen.

On my way to the location, I heard that the alarm level had been raised to Grip 1 (local major incident). At the scene, I met the HOvD from earlier, who told me that he would now be the head of operations (head Copi) for the entire incident and that I had probably chosen the right day for my internship. He told me that at this time there was also a major fire in the municipality of Stein and many units were deployed there.

Again, the focus was on evacuating the entire high-rise building and taking care of the residents, in addition to fighting the fire. Additional ambulances were alerted to the scene and the dispatch center of the StädteRegion Aachen in Germany was also called in.

Similarly, 2 more pelotons were sent to the scene of the fire.

After more than 2.5 hours, the deployment of the Kerkrade fire station was over and we drove in the direction of Kerkrade. In the vehicle, I think I heard that they were considering getting rid of me at the Neustraße border in Herzogenrath because I must have brought a lot of unrest to their service.

They must have rejected the idea and I was allowed to stay until 7 a.m. Fortunately, the night remained quiet.

 

I thank all colleagues of the South Limburg Safety Region for this special 24-hour shift.

Greetings from Herzogenrath

Tino