At 4:18 p.m., the Mainz Fire Department was alerted by the automatic fire alarm system of a high-rise building on Westring. On site, smoke was detected coming from an apartment on the 7th floor of the high-rise.
A window pane of the affected apartment had already been destroyed by the fire and smoke was escaping to the outside.

The fire department immediately sent two teams wearing breathing apparatus and equipped with hoses and ventilation equipment to the affected floor. At the same time, the turntable ladder was positioned outside. A so-called "depot" with additional breathing apparatus wearers and firefighting equipment was then set up on the 5th floor of the building.

The fire, which had broken out in the apartment's kitchen, was quickly extinguished thanks to the rapid and targeted intervention of the emergency services. The smoke spread was limited to the apartment and the hallway in front of it.

Around 50 people had to temporarily leave the building and were looked after by the health section in front of the building. Two people were examined by the health section management, but fortunately all residents remained uninjured. The residents of the affected apartment were not at home, and the apartment is currently uninhabitable.

A total of around 50 emergency personnel from both stations of the professional fire department and the Mainz volunteer fire departments were on site, in addition to extensive police forces and 33 emergency personnel from the rescue and medical services. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Hermann Ziegler
Vehicles BF/FF: 11
Personnel BF/FF: 50

During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the Mainz fire department control center was informed by the responsible control center of the Bann fire department about the forest fire operation by fire departments from North Rhine-Westphalia and asked for logistical support.

Nearly 60 firefighters from North Rhine-Westphalia were on their way to Greece in a convoy of 19 vehicles to help fight the devastating flames in Greece. The convoy was also to receive equipment from the THW's Center for Foreign Logistics in Mainz. To ensure that the convoy could travel to its distant destination as smoothly and directly as possible, the Mainz professional fire department picked up the cargo from the THW in Mainz yesterday (Sunday) using a fire department logistics vehicle and drove it to an agreed meeting point near Bruchsal, where it was handed over to the forces from North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Mainz Fire Department wishes the emergency services from North Rhine-Westphalia a safe journey and every success in their mission in Greece!

Residents living on Am Rodelberg discovered a hedgehog caught in a net in front of their house. Their attempts to free the frightened young animal from its helpless situation failed, so they called the emergency services.

Two officers from the Mainz fire department immediately made their way to the scene.

The situation was confirmed on site. The animal was badly entangled in a net that hung down to the ground from a nearby balcony. As it had "burrowed" itself in with its muscle power, the emergency services had to act very carefully around its prickly armor.

With the help of nail scissors and household scissors provided by the residents, they managed to free the little insectivore from its burden with painstaking effort.

Still frightened but unharmed, it was then allowed to enjoy its freedom again.

Head of operations: Maic Dillenberger
Vehicles: 1
Personnel: 2
Image rights: Image rights belong to the city administration of Mainz

Mayor Ebling: "Massive assistance is a matter of municipal solidarity and goes without saying in view of the tragic events." 

After the Mainz fire department and disaster control units from the city of Mainz were deployed immediately after the tragic flooding began, with large numbers of personnel in some cases in various affected districts, the Mainz fire department is currently providing comprehensive assistance again in various locations and at various levels with a great deal of personnel and material commitment.

At the request of the state's emergency response headquarters, a unit from the Mainz Fire Department set off for the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler area on Sunday, August 8, 2021. This unit is carrying a large number of (submersible) pumps, some of which are particularly suitable for mud and dirty water. The Mainz fire department is also using a special pump for pumping large quantities of water, which can also handle larger solids in the water (such as stones). The unit currently consists of six emergency vehicles and 21 personnel from the Mainz professional and volunteer fire departments.
This deployment was initially requested for one week, but an extension is expected. Already, the active personnel are being replaced every 2 to 3 days. The number of people providing assistance in the flood area is therefore significantly higher than the 21 personnel mentioned.

As was the case at the start of the flood disaster, the Mainz Professional Fire Department is providing support at the state’s emergency operations center with several senior officers. This ensures that several staff positions are filled. The state’s professional fire departments are taking turns in this role. As of today (Wednesday), six officers from the Mainz Professional Fire Department are on duty on site. The next unit will then begin its shift next week.

The Mainz Fire Department also houses a subunit of the State Press and Media Relations Unit (PuMA), which has been supporting the on-site operations command with press relations since the disaster began. As a result, personnel from Mainz are regularly deployed here as well. Behind the scenes, the Mainz Fire Department Dispatch Center is now coordinating all possible operations by fire departments and disaster response agencies from across Rheinhessen in the flood-affected area on behalf of the state’s incident command.

As part of an intermunicipal assistance effort, personnel from the Mainz Professional Fire Department have also been providing aid in the municipality of Mayschoß since Monday, August 9, 2021. The primary focus here is on clearing water and mud from the facilities of the local winegrowers’ cooperative so that they are operational again in time for the upcoming harvest and to prevent further economic damage to the region. To this end, six to 10 firefighters are on duty daily, supported by three emergency vehicles. A dedicated duty roster ensures that there are always sufficient personnel on site while allowing all other necessary operations to proceed and maintaining the minimum staffing level in the city. As things stand, this operation is expected to continue into next week.

To support the Mainz emergency services on site, logistics trips between Mainz and the district of Ahrweiler are also necessary on a regular basis. Required materials are brought in from Mainz, defective equipment is replaced, and the necessary personnel changes are carried out between the site of operation and the Mainz home guard. 

Mayor Michael Ebling emphasizes: "It is a matter of municipal solidarity and, given the tragic events and the incomprehensible scenarios on the ground, it goes without saying that we in the state capital are doing everything in our power to offer help and support on the ground. I therefore have the utmost respect and deepest gratitude for my colleagues who are carrying out these physically and mentally demanding operations – in some cases multiple times – and helping the people on site, some of whom have lost everything and are mourning deaths in their families. Despite all the aid measures mentioned, basic protection in Mainz remains assured, of course. The personnel who remain in Mainz are therefore also making a valuable contribution by enabling the forces on site to carry out their work through their readiness to respond. 

A total of up to 15 vehicles and around 35 to 40 personnel from the professional and volunteer fire departments are currently deployed in the Ahr Valley. Due to the necessary exchange of personnel, the total number of personnel deployed is much higher. 

Since the beginning of the flood disaster, around 165 different people from the professional fire department and the eleven units of the Mainz volunteer fire department have been deployed in the districts of Ahrweiler and Trier-Saarburg. The scope varies depending on the activity, from just a few hours (e.g., logistics trips to the disaster area) to operations lasting several days. 

The tasks completed so far range from courier services and logistics tasks to active assistance and work assignments in sections of the disaster area, to the deployment of Mainz fire department divers, management support, and responsible cooperation in the state's technical operations management. In addition, members of the professional fire department who volunteer with a volunteer fire department or aid organization and were on duty as part of this voluntary work were also granted appropriate leave from duty.

Mainz Fire Department lends fire engine to colleagues in Sinzig 

In addition, the Mainz Fire Department provided the city of Sinzig with a firefighting vehicle on August 1, 2021, which was most recently stationed at the Mainz-Hechtsheim Fire Department, as there is currently a shortage of fire trucks in the disaster area of the Ahrweiler district. The Mainz Fire Department is therefore supporting its colleagues in Sinzig and is lending them a fully equipped LF8/12 fire engine until further notice, which is needed on site for smaller operations and cleanup work following the flood damage. 

Image material: Image rights belong to the Mainz city administration.

At 2 p.m. today, the fire department control center was informed of a burning stack of pallets outside a warehouse on Nikolaus-Otto-Straße. While still on the emergency call, the caller reported that the fire was spreading to the warehouse. Forces from both professional fire stations and the volunteer fire department were immediately alerted to Hechtsheim. A column of smoke was already visible on the way there. 

When the fire department arrived, the front part of the building was already fully engulfed in flames. The alarm level was raised and additional emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene. A barrier was set up to secure another directly adjacent part of the building and the neighboring building, preventing the flames from spreading.

Around 100 emergency personnel were deployed to the scene to fight the fire. The fire is under control. However, the extinguishing work is very time-consuming and will continue for several hours. The high outside temperatures are making the extinguishing work even more difficult and placing considerable demands on the emergency services.

The Mainz Fire Department is being supported by emergency personnel from fire departments in the Mainz-Bingen district to provide additional personnel. Further support is provided by the THW, which is on site with a rescue team, a long-reach grabber, and a construction consultant. In addition, a neighboring hardware store and a nearby construction site kindly provided a forklift and an excavator, which made the operation easier.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

The vacant positions in the professional fire department were filled by volunteer firefighters and full-time firefighters who were alerted during their free time and were handling other calls in the city at the time.

Head of operations: Fire Chief Bernhard Fischer Fire
department/volunteer fire department personnel: around 100 emergency personnel