This Sunday afternoon, severe weather led to an increased number of emergency calls in the districts of Alzey-Worms and Mainz-Bingen. Between 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., emergency services in both districts were called to around 50 incidents. The focus of the operations was in the Alzey-Worms district, where numerous basements had to be pumped out after water ingress and flooded roads had to be secured. During the storm, the staff at the Mainz fire department control center was reinforced in order to handle the increased number of emergency calls.   

At the same time, at 1:25 p.m., there was a building fire with a rescue operation in Klein-Winternheimer-Straße in Mainz-Marienborn. Due to heavy smoke, two people were cut off from the escape route and had to be rescued from the first floor by the Mainz-Marienborn volunteer fire department and the Mainz professional fire department using two portable ladders.

When the fire department arrived, both people were standing at two different windows on the left and right sides of the building, respectively, and were drawing attention to themselves. Heavy smoke was coming out of both windows, and the people were in acute danger of losing their lives. The rescue operation was initiated immediately, and the people were rescued by two teams wearing breathing apparatus using two extension ladders.  

As another person was still missing in the smoke-filled building, several fire department teams were deployed to search for the person. At the same time, firefighting operations were initiated. Searching the smoke-filled and winding building proved difficult, and several locked doors had to be forced open. At the same time, the building was ventilated using a high-performance fan.

Fortunately, there were no other people in the building. The fire on the ground floor was extinguished by a team using a C-pipe. Six residents were examined by the health section. One of the two people rescued was subsequently taken to a hospital in Mainz with smoke inhalation.

The follow-up extinguishing work was very time-consuming and continued until late afternoon. Hot fire debris and several items of furniture had to be removed from the room where the fire had broken out and taken outside, where the items were finally extinguished.  

Due to the smoke damage, the building is temporarily uninhabitable, and the residents were accommodated in a hotel in Mainz.

In addition to the forces from both professional fire stations, the Mainz-Marienborn volunteer fire department, the rescue service with the health section management, and the police were also involved in the operation.

During the operation in Marienborn, Fire Station 1 was manned by the Mainz-Bretzenheim Volunteer Fire Department, which, together with forces from Fire Station 2, was alerted at 3:56 p.m. to a triggered fire alarm system in the old town. Fortunately, no reason for the alarm could be determined on site.

Head of operations: Senior Fire Chief Holger Hagen
Vehicles deployed in Marienborn: 8 BF/FF vehicles
Personnel deployed in Marienborn: 30 BF/FF personnel
Image material: Image rights belong to the Mainz city administration

At around 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, the Mainz Fire Department was called to a traffic accident on the Theodor Heuss Bridge on the Mainz side. According to the report, a car had overturned there.

At the scene, it was determined that an accident involving a car had occurred. The vehicle was lying on its side. The driver had already been freed from the vehicle by the emergency services and was receiving medical attention. The Theodor Heuss Bridge had been completely closed in both directions by the police.

The fire department put the vehicle back on its wheels, bound leaking operating fluids, and disconnected the vehicle battery. The police were then able to reopen both lanes in the direction of Wiesbaden.

The emergency response measures caused traffic jams on both sides of the bridge.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Markus Ketelaer Fire department
vehicles: 1 command vehicle, 1 rescue firefighting vehicle Fire department
personnel: 10 officers from the professional fire department
Image rights: Image rights belong to the Mainz city administration

At around 9:30 p.m. this evening, a room fire broke out in Mainz-Gonsenheim, fortunately without anyone being injured.

When the fire department arrived, smoke was already coming out of the open window on the first floor of the apartment building, and the hallway was filled with smoke. The tenant wasn't in the building at the time. Several people from the neighboring apartments showed up at the windows and were told to stay there. One resident was rescued with a fire escape hood and handed over to the emergency services. He was released shortly afterwards.

The fire in the kitchenette area in the entrance hall of a one-room apartment was quickly extinguished. Several high-performance fans were used to remove the smoke from the building. The apartment affected by the fire is no longer habitable. The tenant was able to stay with relatives. All other residents were able to return to their apartments after the firefighting operations were completed.

In addition to the professional fire department and the Mainz-Gonsenheim volunteer fire department, emergency medical services and police were also on site.

Head of operations: Firefighter Katja Stock Fire
department/volunteer fire department vehicles: 5/1 Fire
department/volunteer fire department personnel: 18/6

This morning, there was a head-on collision between two cars on the L431 between Mainz-Laubenheim and Bodenheim, in which two people were injured. Thanks to the support of first responders, first aid was administered immediately after the accident. Fire department personnel cordoned off the accident site, ensured fire safety, and assisted the emergency medical services in providing initial medical care to the injured. As the operation progressed, leaking operating fluids were collected and the vehicle batteries were disconnected and secured.

Both injured persons were taken to hospitals in Mainz for further treatment. The police called in an expert to clarify the cause and circumstances of the accident.

Head of operations: Firefighter Katja Stock
Vehicles BF/FF: 3 BF/ 2 FF
Personnel BF/FF: 14 BF / 12 FF

The storm situation in the northwestern part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate remains tense. Local forces have been on duty for many hours. At the request of the Supervisory and Service Directorate, a technical operations command from the Mainz Fire Department was dispatched to the Trier-Saarburg district this morning. After an advance team had already been deployed in the early hours of the morning, additional personnel from the Mainz professional and volunteer fire departments set off shortly before 10 a.m. They will support the operations command in the Trier-Saarburg district with management personnel and resources. 

Logistics components were already used yesterday evening to support the transport of sandbags in Koblenz.

Head of operations: Senior Fire Officer Mark Jüliger
BF/FF vehicles: 1 KdoW, 2 MTF, 1 ELW 2, 1 WLF, 2 dump
trucks BF/FF personnel: 13

Severe storms with heavy rain led to severe flooding in northern Rhineland-Palatinate at the end of last week. On Thursday, July 15, 2021, the Mainz fire department was called to provide supra-local assistance, initially in the district of Trier-Saarburg. Here, professional and volunteer firefighters supported the local operations command in coordinating the emergency services in the Sauer River area. 
After local and regional forces had dealt with most of the acute incidents throughout Friday, the command unit was transferred to Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in the evening to take charge of an operational section there. The approximately 70 personnel dispatched from the Mainz professional and volunteer fire departments were also active in this section, searching for missing persons and pumping out basements, among other things.

Throughout the weekend, managers from the professional fire department also held various positions in the overall operations management in the district of Ahrweiler. These positions will continue to be filled in the coming days.

To date, more than 100 personnel from the volunteer and professional fire departments have been deployed with nearly 30 vehicles. In addition, several organizational managers and senior emergency physicians as well as medical and support units from the Mainz disaster control department were permanently dispatched.

Vehicles BF/FF: 30
Personnel BF/FF: >100

At around 11 a.m., the Mainz fire department was alerted to a possible emergency landing at Mainz Finthen Airport. The employee in the airport tower had previously received an emergency message via radio from an ultralight aircraft that was approaching. According to the pilot, his aircraft had lost a wheel, which posed a high risk of accident during the upcoming landing. Due to the increased risk, the air traffic controller alerted the Mainz fire department to an impending emergency landing.

At the airfield, personnel from both fire stations of the BF, the FF Finthen, as well as an emergency doctor and two ambulances took up positions at the runway so that they could intervene immediately in the event of an actual accident. The pilot was assisted by radio from the tower during landing and was able to bring the FK9 aircraft safely to the ground. 

Both occupants were examined by the emergency services but were found to be unharmed. The aircraft posed no further danger and was therefore removed from the runway by airport staff. Once all measures had been completed, the runway was reopened after just a few minutes.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Marius Dick
Vehicles BF/FF: 6 BF/ 2 FF
Personnel BF/FF: 21 BF / 9 FF
Image material: Image rights belong to the Mainz city administration.