Red alarm level: Fire risk in Südbrandenburg rose drastically!

Red alarm level: Fire risk in Südbrandenburg rose drastically!

On Monday afternoon, several fire brigade operations in Südbrandenburg caused a sensation. Near Kolkwitz (Spree-Neisse) sparked on a total of around 600 square meters, while a slope of the embankment on the railway line between Ruhland and Hosena (Oberspreewald-Lausitz) broke out. In these incidents, a male person was seriously injured and had to be flown to the hospital with a rescue helicopter. The fire brigade was still in progress in the early evening, while train traffic was temporarily interrupted. However, a track could be released, although there could continue to be delays and train failures on the lines RE11 and RE15, as rbb24.

In addition to the forest and embankment fires, there was a building fire in the Papitz district of Kolkwitz on Sunday evening. There, the living space ignited on the upper floor of a house, whereby the resident could get to safety in good time before the fire brigade arrived. With 40 emergency services, the fire brigade managed to quickly control the fire and then ventilate the building. Despite the dramatic circumstances, there were no injuries. The exact cause of the fire has so far been unknown, and the police have started investigations, so [Niederlausitz-Aktuell] (https://www.niederlausitz-aktuell.de/niederlausitz-aktuell/orte/spretee-neisse/kolkwitz/247021/feuerwehr Einze-in-kolkwitz-polmi-ermittelt-zur-brandurf).

scary parallels in the summer of 2022

The current situation in Brandenburg is not to be considered isolated. As early as 2022, the region recorded one of the warmest and driest summer since 1881, with only around 145 liters of precipitation per square meter. These climatic conditions led to a worrying increase in forest fires, with up to 490 cases to the present day. Experts warn that the number of 491 forest fires from 2018 could be exceeded this year, which would further exacerbate the already tense conditions, such as Feuerwehrmagazin.

The susceptibility of Brandenburg for forest fires is due to various factors. In particular, the dry, ammunition -contaminated soils and the numerous pine forests create a dangerous interaction. In the past, Interior Minister Michael Stübgen expressed hope that 2022 was an exceptional year, but the increasing number of fires speaks a different language. In recent years, an increase in the days with a high to very high forest fire hazard index has also been registered, which underlines the need for urgent measures to fight fire.

The current fire situation in Südbrandenburg once again shows the importance of a watchful and well -organized fire brigade, which not only has to find solutions in acute cases, but also in the long term in order to cope with such natural events.