Lüneburg fire brigade mastered challenging hazardous substances!

Lüneburg fire brigade mastered challenging hazardous substances!

On September 29, 2024, an important exercise scenario of the district fire brigade II of the district of Lüneburg took place in Uelzen. Around 60 emergency services had the opportunity to test themselves in two demanding plants with hazardous substances. The scenarios were made by Dr. Kai Stührenberg, the ABC specialist consultant of the district fire brigade, carefully worked out. A central aspect of this exercise was the testing of the operational readiness and the improvisation of the firefighters in unknown environments.

In the first part, the emergency services had to save two people who were contaminated with an unknown white powder. In this context, the term "contaminated" describes that the patients had been contaminated by the powder. After the rescue, the firefighters carried out a first analysis of the powder on site. A sample was properly removed and prepared for shipping to a laboratory. This situation presented the emergency services in particular for challenges, since the space at the fictitious site was very limited.

The second part and its challenges

After a short refuse to the fire brigade center in Uelzen, where the emergency services were catered for by the THW local association Lüneburg, the second practice scenario continued. Here, a hazardous fabric from a tank car was simulated. The task was not only to seal the leaks on the tank car, but also to calculate the spread of the hazardous substance and to confirm the results with special measurements. Such exercises are crucial for the training of skills and improving reactionability in real emergencies.

dr. Stührenberg was very satisfied with the course of the exercise day. "From my point of view, the exercise day was a success, for which I am of course not solely responsible. I would like to sincerely thank the DRK willingness Uelzen under the direction of Björn Schenkel for their participation, Tim Grote and Max Wiescholek, Torsten Strauer, Johann-Heinrich Schröder and FTZ Uelzen for the support," he said. The importance of cross-district networking of the ABC special forces should not be underestimated, which is why it will continue to be a close exchange in the future.

The exercises that took place in Uelzen are an excellent example of how firefighters are constantly trained in order to be prepared for various challenges. Such realistic scenarios in particular help to react quickly and efficiently to dangers in the future. Further information on this can be found here