As in previous years, the Mainz Fire Department was well prepared for the expected increase in callouts on New Year's Eve. The number of personnel on duty was increased at both professional fire stations and additional vehicles were put into service. The fire department control center, which handles 112 emergency calls for the city of Mainz and the districts of Mainz-Bingen and Alzey-Worms, was also reinforced with additional dispatchers.

Between 10:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., the Mainz fire department control center handled a total of 14 fire department calls, 10 of which were in the city of Mainz and 4 in the districts of Mainz-Bingen and Alzey-Worms. At the same time, more than 60 incoming emergency calls requesting medical assistance were forwarded to the Mainz rescue control center.

However, the professional fire department was first called to Münsterstraße in the early evening. At around 5:25 p.m., an attentive neighbor noticed burning objects on a balcony on the 9th floor of Münsterstraße and helped the fire department locate the apartment where the fire was burning. This prevented the fire from spreading to the apartment and thus prevented greater damage by the emergency services. The police have begun investigating the cause of the fire.

At 12:11 a.m., the fire department was then alerted to smoke coming from a roof in Finthen. However, there was no evidence of a fire.

Shortly thereafter, emergency calls were received regarding a burning balcony in Mainz's Neustadt district. Objects behind a concrete parapet were burning on the first floor of a residential building. Firefighting operations were immediately prepared using both the turntable ladder and the stairwell. Shortly after arrival, the window to the apartment burst, causing the apartment to fill with smoke. A short time later, the fire was extinguished. Here, too, except for soot deposits, major damage to the apartment's furnishings was prevented. Since the smoke had spread to varying degrees in all apartments in the building, the apartment doors were opened one after the other and the apartments were cleared of smoke. As a precaution, one resident was transported by the emergency services to a hospital in Mainz. The operation was supported by the city's volunteer fire department.

At around 1 a.m., we were called to a balcony fire in Mainz's Oberstadt district. When we arrived, the neighbor who had noticed the fire was already trying to prevent it from spreading by using water from a garden hose. The balcony was fully ablaze and the fire threatened to spread to the interior of the building and the roof. While immediately checking whether there were still people in the building, firefighting operations began at the rear of the building. Fortunately, there were no longer any people in the building. Thanks to the neighbor's courageous intervention and the immediate action of the fire department, the fire was prevented from spreading to other parts of the building. The owner arrived at the scene later and was treated by the emergency services on site. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

There were also four call-outs due to burning rubbish bins in the city area.  

In addition to the professional fire department, the volunteer fire departments of Bretzenheim, Finthen, Gonsenheim, Hechtsheim, Stadt, and Weisenau were also deployed.

The Mainz Fire Department wishes all citizens a healthy and peaceful 2020. 

Incident commander: Michael Thines, Katja Stock, André Schäfer
Image material: The image rights are held by the Mainz city administration.

An elderly lady from Mainz-Drais had an unfortunate start to the new year on New Year's Day. For reasons that are still unclear, a fire broke out at lunchtime on the ground floor of a detached house. The resident of the house initially tried to extinguish the fire herself, but was unable to cope with the smoke and flames.

Thanks to the courageous intervention of a neighbor, the elderly woman was not seriously injured. However, she had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance with suspected smoke inhalation and minor burns. In the course of the operation, the brave rescuer was also taken to the hospital for examination to rule out smoke inhalation.  

The Mainz fire department, which was notified of the fire via the 112 emergency number, immediately responded to the scene. Heavy smoke was already visible on the way to Mainz-Drais. Extensive firefighting measures were taken on site to extinguish the ground floor, which was already fully ablaze. Several teams wearing heavy breathing apparatus were sent into the building to extinguish the fire. The fire was extinguished after a short time. Fortunately, the flames were prevented from spreading to the attic. The follow-up firefighting work continued until the afternoon.

In addition to the Mainz fire department, the rescue service was on site with two ambulances and an emergency doctor's vehicle, as were the Mainz police and an employee of the Mainz Netze emergency service. The Mainz police launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.  

In addition to the Mainz professional fire department, the Mainz-Drais volunteer fire department was also deployed.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Sebastian Schmitt
Vehicles BF/FF: 1 ELW, 2 HLF, 1 DLK, 1 KLAF, 1 MZF / 1 HLF, 1 LF
Image material: The image rights are held by the Mainz city administration.

On the evening of January 6, 2020, shortly before 6 p.m., a traffic accident involving two cars occurred in the construction zone on the BAB 60 highway near the Mainz interchange, in which one person was injured.

In order to rescue the injured person safely, they had to be freed from the car using hydraulic rescue equipment. They were then taken to a hospital in Mainz for further examination.
During the rescue operation, the left lane in the construction zone had to be completely closed at times, causing delays in rush hour traffic.

After the damaged vehicles had been removed, the motorway maintenance department had to clean the road due to spilled operating fluids and debris, which is why the lane remained closed for some time.

In addition to the fire department, an emergency doctor, the rescue service, and the highway police were at the scene.

Head of operations: Fire Chief Axel Kiesewalter Fire department
vehicles: 1 command vehicle, 1 fire engine, 1 water tender Fire department
personnel: 10 officers from the professional fire department

On January 11, 2020, at around 6:45 p.m., several calls were received simultaneously at the Mainz fire department control center reporting a fire in a hotel near the train station.
Since a fire in a hotel is likely to affect a large number of people, units from both fire stations, the volunteer fire department, and emergency medical services were alerted. When the emergency services arrived on site, heavy smoke was observed coming from the ground floor of the hotel. Several emergency personnel were therefore deployed simultaneously to fight the fire and rescue people.

Fortunately, only seven people had to be led out of the hotel wearing escape hoods and handed over to the emergency medical services for a check-up. One person was transported to a hospital for further examination on suspicion of having inhaled too much smoke. The entire hotel, which was accommodating 29 guests at the time of the operation, was partially evacuated.

The fire was extinguished shortly after the fire department arrived. While fighting the fire in a storage room of the hotel, it was discovered that the fire had broken out in the adjacent bar "Moulin Rouge," but by that time it had already been largely extinguished. Since it was unclear whether anyone was still in the bar, it was searched thoroughly. Fortunately, the suspicion was not confirmed. However, the hotel was so heavily smoke-filled via connecting corridors that the fire department had to check all rooms several times. In order to finally clear the entire building of smoke, high-performance fans were set up at various points in the building, which proved to be very difficult due to the interlocking construction, but was ultimately successful.

A total of around 50 firefighters from Mainz with 12 vehicles were on site. In addition, emergency and medical services, the health department, and the police with several patrol cars and the criminal investigation department were also present.

The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. No information can be provided about the extent of the damage. The hotel was able to partially resume operations after all measures had been completed, and guests were able to return to their rooms. The bar area was completely destroyed by the fire and is no longer usable.

Head of operations: Fire Department Chief Lothar Harf Fire department
vehicles: 12 Fire department
personnel: approx. 50

On Monday, January 13, 2020, at 7:50 a.m., the fire department was called to Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring to respond to a traffic accident. An accident involving a car and a tram had occurred at the Frauenlobstraße intersection. The car was thrown against an overhead line pole by the impact and was wedged between the tram and a tree.

The two occupants of the car were able to free themselves from their vehicle before the fire department arrived. The driver and a child were injured in the fully occupied tram. According to passersby, the injured child was taken to Mainz University Hospital by his mother. A total of four people were injured; the tram driver and the driver and passenger of the car were also taken to a hospital in Mainz. The fire department assisted the emergency services in providing first aid to the patients. The police closed the intersection and implemented traffic control measures. The accident caused disruptions to local public transport in the area around Mainz Central Station during the morning rush hour.

In order to remove leaking fuel from under the car involved in the accident, it had to be removed from the scene by a towing company. This concern was not confirmed. Once the vehicles involved in the accident had been recovered, the area was reopened to traffic. Trams can also pass the accident site again without obstruction.
The damage to property amounts to several thousand euros.

The professional fire department was on site with one command vehicle, two rescue fire engines, and 14 personnel.
The rescue service was on site with two ambulances and one emergency doctor vehicle. The police were on site with several patrol cars.

Head of operations: Hermann Ziegler
Vehicles BF/FF: 3
Personnel BF/FF: 14
Image material: Image rights belong to the city administration of Mainz

On Friday evening at around 7:40 p.m., a caller reported to the 112 emergency number that his washing machine was on fire. The dispatchers at the fire department control center instructed the man to leave his apartment and lock the door. They then alerted emergency personnel from both professional fire stations as well as the Mainz-Weisenau volunteer fire department, an ambulance, and the police to the apartment building in the upper town.

The first emergency vehicles to arrive on the scene confirmed the report. Heavy smoke was coming from an apartment on the mezzanine floor, but at the same time, smoke had already entered the stairwell of the building, causing some residents to leave their apartments and flee outside through the smoke.

The fire department immediately began extinguishing the fire and cleared the smoke from the stairwell using high-performance fans. As it was not yet clear at this point how quickly the measures taken would be successful, the emergency services and the fire department agreed to call in additional emergency and medical services to be prepared for a larger number of patients if necessary.

However, both the ventilation and extinguishing measures were quickly successful, which meant that the stairwell could be used safely, no smoke entered the other apartments in the building, and the washing machine could be taken outside, where it was finally extinguished.
Thanks to the rapid response, there were ultimately no injuries. Nevertheless, the apartment is no longer habitable due to fire damage. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Head of operations: Fire Chief Jan Peuser
Vehicles BF/FF: 6 BF / 1 FF
Personnel BF/FF: 18 BF / 8 FF