Police train height rescue at the impressive boat lift!

Police train height rescue at the impressive boat lift!

Niederfinow, Deutschland - On June 3, 2025, climbers of the Berlin police at the historic shipping lift in Niederfinow in the Barnim carried out a demanding height rescue training. The exercise took place in close cooperation with the Wasserstraßen- und Seilfahrfrände office Oder-Havel as well as technical units by the Berlin police. Nine specially trained civil servants were involved in the exercise, which aimed to simulate the rescue of an injured person from up to 50 meters.

The exercise required precise preparation and procedure. Equipped with helmets, overalls and climbing ropes, the officials used an ambulance that was mounted on a cable car to bring the "injured" person safely to the ground. Police chief Thomas Kinnkeit noted that an essential part of the exercise was the finding of suitable attachment points without sharp edges for the ropes. The entire development period was an hour in which the officials were able to work under realistic conditions.

historical importance of the ship's lift

The Niederfinow shipmas is an impressive engineering structure that enables the overcoming of significant differences in height in shipping routes. In contrast to locks that change the water mirror, the crew lifts ships directly. This system has the advantage of overcoming large differences in height in a short time without losses. However, the structural and operational effort is higher than with conventional locks.

• type: reinforced concrete and steel
• dimensions:
• length: approx. 130 m
• width: 50 m
• Height: 60 m
• Connection: 65 m long channel bridge to the upper front port
• Planning: new building in 1997 decided, earthworks began in 2006
• importance: Improvement of the waterways between Berlin and Szczecin

A modern inland ship that drives through the lifting can transport the volume of around 150 truck loads, which would correspond to 2.5 kilometers on the street of a vehicle column and would cause significant emissions. This aspect underlines the importance of the ship's lift for ecological traffic between Germany and the Baltic Sea area.

a place for training and developments

In recent years, height rescuers of various fire departments have also regularly trained at the ship's lift, which further strengthens its importance as a practice site. These exercises are not only important for the safety of the emergency services, but also for the general improvement of the emergency mechanisms in the region.

The current exercise underlines the multifunctional use of the ship's lift, which is not only considered a important engineering structure of historical relevance, but also as a modern training location for emergency services. According to werersobek.com, the ship's lift is a remarkable example of engineering, which also contributes to increasing efficiency in water traffic and thus plays an important role in the modern infrastructure.

For more information about the functioning and history of ship's lifting systems, Wikipedia is an insightful resource.