Shortly after 5 a.m. on Friday morning, the Mainz fire department was alerted to a "residential fire" on Christofsstraße in Mainz's old town. Upon arrival at the scene, it was found that items stored in front of a shop were burning intensely. One of the shop's windows had already burst when the fire department arrived, and there was a risk of the fire spreading inside the building.

The residents of the apartments above were instructed to close their windows. A team immediately set up a C-pipe for an external attack. At the same time, another team worked with the police to check the apartments above the fire. No damage was found there, and the residents were able to remain safely in their apartments throughout the operation.

The firefighting measures quickly took effect, preventing the fire from spreading inside the building. However, as the shop was heavily smoke-filled, it was ventilated using a positive pressure fan. Afterwards, the destroyed shop window was sealed off by the fire department in consultation with the police.

In addition to personnel from both stations of the professional fire department, the police were on site with several patrol cars, the rescue service with an ambulance, the municipal utilities department for electricity, and the criminal investigation department. During the operation, the Mainz-Stadt volunteer fire department manned a fire engine in the equipment shed.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Markus Ketelaer Fire department
vehicles: 1 command vehicle, 2 rescue fire engines, 1 turntable ladder, 1 multi-purpose vehicle, 1 small alarm vehicle Fire department
personnel: 19

At 3:47 p.m. today, the Mainz Fire Department was called to Willi-Wolf-Straße in Mainz Bretzenheim to respond to a triggered smoke alarm in an apartment. A neighbor (who is also a member of the Bretzenheim Volunteer Fire Department) had heard the smoke alarm beeping and rightly alerted the fire department.

Upon arrival, smoke was detected coming from a window on the second floor of an apartment building, prompting an upgrade of the alarm and the dispatch of additional personnel from the Mainz-Bretzenheim Volunteer Fire Department. The personnel at Fire Station 2 were unavailable at the time due to a parallel operation.

Firefighters from Fire Station 1 prepared to attack the fire with a team wearing breathing apparatus and to open the apartment door. While this was being done, a relative arrived at the scene and informed the incident commander that there was definitely an elderly, hard-of-hearing person in the apartment.

As there was an immediate danger to life due to the heavy smoke in the apartment and the solid apartment door could not be opened without considerable effort, an immediate rescue operation was initiated using the ladder. Just as the attack team was about to proceed with the ladder, neighbors handed the fire department a spare key to the apartment.

The attack team found the elderly woman asleep in the living room and rescued her from the smoke-filled apartment using an escape hood before handing her over to the emergency medical services. The woman was very lucky that the door to the smoke-filled area of the apartment was closed and that only a small amount of smoke had accumulated in the living room by the time the fire department rescued her. After brief outpatient treatment by the emergency medical services, the 87-year-old woman was handed over to her visibly relieved granddaughters.

The cause of the smoke was burnt food on the stove, which was extinguished by the fire department with a small amount of water. The apartment was then mechanically ventilated with a positive pressure fan.
In addition to the fire department, the following were also on duty: police with a patrol car, emergency services with an ambulance.

Head of operations: Fire Chief René Adler
Vehicles BF/FF: 3/1
Personnel BF/FF: 10/6

During the night from Friday to Saturday, the Mainz fire department was called to a building fire in a high-rise building at around 1:00 a.m. Residents reported smoke in the hallway on the 9th floor.

The reported fire was confirmed on site. A kitchen fire had broken out in a residential unit on the 9th floor. The resident was awakened by the smoke alarm and smoke and was able to escape into the hallway just in time, before the fire department arrived. The fire in the kitchen was quickly brought under control and extinguished by a team wearing breathing apparatus.

While the fire was being fought, several teams of professional and volunteer firefighters checked the floors above. Light smoke was detected in several hallways. However, there was no danger to the residents at this point, as the affected areas were naturally ventilated. In addition, several ventilation devices and smoke protection curtains were used to keep the hallways smoke-free.

Thanks to the rapid response of the fire department, it was possible to avoid evacuating the building and the majority of residents were able to remain in their apartments.

During the course of the operation, a total of 10 people were registered and examined by the health section management. No one was injured in the fire, nor was anyone transported to a hospital.

The extent of the property damage is unknown. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. The affected apartment is currently uninhabitable.

The operation was completed after about two hours. During the operation, the Bretzenheim and Stadt volunteer fire departments ensured basic protection for the city of Mainz in case further operations were necessary.

In addition to the professional fire department with both firefighting units from both fire stations, the volunteer fire departments from Drais, Gonsenheim, and Finthen, as well as the management service, were also on site. Several ambulances, the health section management with the organizational manager and senior emergency doctor, the police, and the permanent criminal investigation service were also on duty.

Head of operations: Fire Chief Hermann Wagner
Vehicles BF/FF: 10/4
Personnel BF/FF: 25/20+ 25 FF Guard duty

This evening, as previously forecast by weather services, a hurricane-force low-pressure system swept across Mainz and Rheinhessen. The Mainz Fire Department control center issued a severe weather alert. The control center was staffed with off-duty personnel to handle the large number of requests for assistance. As of this writing (6:30 p.m.), approximately 40 storm-related calls have been dispatched in the city of Mainz and the districts of Mainz-Bingen and Alzey-Worms.

In several Mainz neighborhoods, branches broke off and trees were uprooted. There are no reports of injuries so far. In Mainz-Ebersheim, a chimney fell from the roof. The heating system was shut down using the emergency shut-off. Loose roof tiles were removed using a turntable ladder. In addition to the professional fire department, the volunteer fire departments of Ebersheim and Mombach have been on the scene so far. The fire departments of Bretzenheim, Marienborn, and Innenstadt are reinforcing the professional fire department’s stations.

Strong gusts of wind are expected to continue until midnight. After that, the wind is expected to die down further. 

As we reported yesterday evening, Rheinhessen was also hit yesterday by the forecasted storm system. The Mainz Fire Department Control Center issued a severe weather alert at 5:35 p.m. The control center was reinforced with off-duty personnel to handle the large number of requests for assistance. 

Result:
A total of 60 storm-related calls were received, and the appropriate fire departments were dispatched.
There were 17 calls within the city limits of Mainz.

In the Mainz-Bingen district, 26 calls were recorded, and in the Alzey-Worms district, 16 calls. The severe weather alert was lifted
after about 2 hours.

The damage consisted mainly of fallen branches, uprooted trees, and loose or falling roof sections.
Compared to areas in northern Germany, Rheinhessen got off very lightly.
Thanks to the severe weather response plan—which has been established and thoroughly tested for years at the Mainz Fire Department control center—the situation was handled without any problems.

The fire department continues to monitor the situation and remains on standby for any future incidents. We expect a few isolated storm-related “cleanup tasks” on Saturday and hope for a quiet weekend.

On the afternoon of February 21, 2022, the Mainz Fire Department was called to a fire on the balcony of a high-rise building at around 2:20 p.m. Several callers reported the fire on a balcony to the Mainz Fire Department's control center by telephone.

When the volunteer and professional fire departments arrived, they confirmed the reported fire. A balcony on the first floor of the high-rise building was in flames, and parts of the hallway inside were already filled with smoke. The residents of the affected and surrounding apartments were able to escape to safety in time.

Several teams immediately began fighting the fire from inside and outside using the turntable ladder. The fire was brought under control and extinguished within a few minutes. The apartment was also affected and heavily smoke-filled due to the fire spreading into the living area. Ventilation measures prevented further smoke spread and cleared the smoke from the first floor during the course of the operation. The rest of the building was checked for smoke and fire spread, with no findings.

During the operation, two missing rabbits were rescued, apparently unharmed. As a precaution, the residents took them to a veterinarian.

The residents were examined by the senior emergency physician during the operation and cared for by the emergency services. No one was injured during the operation. Likewise, no one was transported to a hospital.
The amount of property damage is unknown. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. The affected apartment is currently uninhabitable.

The operation was completed after about 90 minutes.

In addition to the professional fire department with both firefighting units from both fire stations, the Gonsenheim and Finthen volunteer fire departments were also on site. Several ambulances, the section health management with the organizational manager and senior emergency physician were also alerted, although the section health management was only partially deployed.

Head of operations: Fire Chief Björn Patzke
Vehicles BF/FF/RD: 9/2/5
Personnel BF/FF/RD: 14/8/9

Although no Carnival events were scheduled for today, Rosenmontag, a large crowd gathered in the Schillerplatz/Ballplatz/Weißliliengasse area toward evening.

As a result, the regular emergency medical services received an increased number of calls for assistance. Given the situation, the Mainz Fire Department and the Health Sector Command were alerted, and they spontaneously set up an emergency aid station at Ballplatz. This station was staffed by a rapid response team from the medical services (SEG SAN).
The fire department provided support with lighting and logistics.

The operation was concluded around 12:20 a.m. Over 50 medical interventions were performed at the emergency aid station, and the Rapid Response Team transported 20 patients to nearby hospitals.  

Incident Commander: Fire Chief Björn Patzke
Vehicles: Health Sector Command, 2 medical service response vehicles, 5 disaster response ambulances, 2 crew transport vehicles, command vehicle with fire
department command staff Personnel: approx. 50 responders from the fire department and emergency response organizations