A few days ago, Idar-Oberstein fire station 1 arrived with around 40 firefighters and a total of seven vehicles to search for four people who were missing after an assumed fire on the upper floor of the OIE warehouse building. This was the initial scenario of a rescue exercise in which the emergency services rehearsed an emergency on the site.
During the exercise, firefighters wearing breathing apparatus searched for the allegedly missing persons in several units. One of them was rescued from the window on the upper floor using the turntable ladder, while another was brought down into the open using a ladder. According to the exercise plan, two more people were considered missing. After a short time, a lifelike dummy, which symbolically represented the missing persons in a remote corner of the warehouse building, was found and rescued. The missing and injured could only be discovered and treated with the help of a large number of personnel and several breathing apparatus teams. The firefighters had to find their way around the rooms of the warehouse building under zero visibility. The newly installed 'dry riser' in the OIE administration building was also tested during the exercise. It can be used to feed extinguishing water to the various floors of the building and distribute it there.
"Westnetz and OIE have been supporting the region's fire departments for many years and making it possible to carry out exercises. They give the emergency services the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge of rapid assistance and the interaction of many rescuers in a realistic manner. We also work hand in hand with the firefighters in the event of emergencies, such as damage caused by storms or flooding," said OIE CEO Thomas Johann, pleased with the good cooperation. Of course, the physical well-being after the exercise left nothing to be desired: There was a barbecue at the end of the exercise, and the one or other important exchange certainly took place over good food and drinks. Head of the fire brigade Jörg Riemer added: "Special thanks go to Thomas Johann, who provided the premises for the respiratory protection exercise. Thanks also to our Westnetz colleagues Volker Lorenz, Kevin Hartmann, Torben Herberts and Pascal Schwarz for their support in planning and carrying out the exercise."