Firefighter in an interview: "It can also burn in the city"

Mr. Popp, how is the forest fire situation in Hesse right now?

The situation is currently not normal.

In addition to the normal operations that the fire brigades carry out every day, there are also around 180 forest fires.

It's getting stressful right now.

Shouldn't the situation then be described as "extreme"?

I think the number of missions says it all.

This is a relatively high number, which the fire brigades also received from forest fires and vegetation fires.

Have there been fire victims in Hesse?

There are injured workers.

But luckily I don't know of any dead people.

The devastating fire in Münster in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district a few days ago has now been extinguished.

But how is the situation developing in other regions of Hesse?

The situation is still tense because the forest fires are not just limited to the Darmstadt-Dieburg area.

Just last week there was a very strong fire in the Lahn-Dill district.

The forest fires actually cover the whole of Hesse.

Which regions are currently most affected?

Münster, Darmstadt-Dieburg and Haiger in the Lahn-Dill district.

So far these have been the biggest bets.

Does Hessen have enough firefighters for such extreme situations?

Yes.

In Hesse, we have around 71,000 volunteer firefighters in the operations department and around 2,500 firefighters in the professional fire brigade.

So far that has been sufficient.

Will the risk of forest fires increase in certain regions in the future?

It's not just about vegetation and forest fires that we have, but also about flooding after prolonged rainfall.

And rain was forecast for this week.

But Hesse has been spared from it so far.

Does it help if it rains two days in a row, or does the rain have to be particularly heavy and long-lasting?

This question cannot be answered in such a general way.

This has to do with the soil conditions.

If it rained for two days, that would of course reduce the risk of fire.

What happens if we hardly get any rain in the next few weeks?

The risk of forest fires will increase even further.

Due to the continuing drought, it is of course to be expected that the operations will continue.

In addition to forest fires or vegetation fires, there are now fires in which straw bales suddenly burned at night.

How much of a burden does all of this have on firefighters?

Enormous.

The actual firefighting operation is a physical challenge anyway.

But when the air temperatures are between 30 and 40 degrees and the heat of the fire that is to be fought, the effort for our emergency services becomes even greater.

Could you please describe what the day-to-day life of a volunteer looks like at the moment?

In the case of a forest fire, it is always difficult to say, because in many cases the scene of the fire cannot be approached directly.

That means there is no passable way to the site.

So the firefighters in full gear have to go there on foot, sometimes through rough terrain.

There is normally no fire water available in the forests.

This means that it has to be transported over long distances, some of which can be several kilometers: hoses have to be laid and pumps have to be used.

All of this is an enormous physical strain.

And if the fire is then massive, the operation lasts longer.