At around 10 a.m., alert passers-by reported a fire on the loading area of a semi-trailer on the A60 motorway, shortly before the Bretzenheim exit, to the Mainz fire department control center. The passers-by were able to alert the driver to the fire and guide him to an emergency lay-by.

When the fire department arrived, light smoke was visible coming from the semi-trailer. However, the fire had melted the electrical system of the tail lift, so that the interior could only be accessed by cutting an opening in the side wall with a motor cutter. Wearing heavy breathing apparatus, the firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. The fire was caused by a technical device, but as only non-combustible goods were loaded, the fire was brought under control fairly quickly.

However, due to the dense load, it was not possible to ensure that the fire had been completely extinguished, so the truck was diverted from the highway accompanied by the fire department and police.

Thankfully, with the support of a specialist truck company, the fire department was able to open the tailgate on its premises near the highway exit to carry out a final check.

The firefighting measures led to the temporary closure of the A60 in the direction of Darmstadt. The arrival of the fire trucks was hampered by the lack of an emergency lane. There were also delays during the operation because a motorcyclist had to squeeze past the vehicles stuck in traffic.

The fire department was able to complete its operation at around 1 p.m.

The fire department emphasizes that even when traffic is slow-moving without any apparent cause, an emergency lane must be formed immediately between the left lane and the remaining lanes. Any unnecessary delay can cost lives.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Nicols Moutty Fire department
vehicles: 5/1 Fire department
personnel: 20/2

There was a hazardous materials incident in the underground car park of the Mainz police headquarters this morning. A liquid was leaking from under the door of a technical room marked with hazard signs for acids and alkalis. When the building technician checked the room, he saw liquid dripping from a system and alerted the fire department at 6:45 a.m.

The fire department evacuated the danger zone. Wearing protective suits and breathing apparatus, the emergency services entered the room to assess the situation. It turned out that approximately 50 liters of caustic soda and sulfuric acid were stored and connected to a pump. The fire department was able to quickly seal the leak. Measurements were also taken to rule out further hazards. The police's ability to respond was not affected.

The emergency services were decontaminated after completing their work. Hazardous material operations generally require a large number of personnel and materials, which is why Moltkestraße had to be temporarily closed to traffic.

The site was handed over to the police after the work was completed. The area will be professionally cleaned. The investigation into the cause of the damage is being conducted by the Mainz Criminal Investigation Department in close cooperation with a specialist company.

The professional fire department was on duty with 21 personnel and 7 vehicles from both stations. In addition to the police, the rescue service was also on site with an ambulance. The operation was completed by the fire department after a good two hours.

Head of operations: Firefighter Andrea Arend Fire department
vehicles: 7 Fire department
personnel: 21

This Wednesday morning brought many calls for the Mainz Fire Department, some of which had to be handled simultaneously:

6:48 a.m.: Hazardous materials incident A hazardous substance
leak occurred in the basement of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office. The fire department stopped the leak and collected the spilled hazardous substance. See press release below.

10:44 a.m.: Water rescue Attentive
passersby spotted a driverless boat off the Mainz shore in the area between the Theodor Heuss Bridge and the Kaiser Bridge. The drifting boat was secured by a civilian boat until the fire department arrived. The whereabouts of the boat's crew were unclear, and a search operation was launched on the Rhine. Parallel to the search measures, the police were able to locate the owner of the boat. It was a dinghy belonging to a Rhine freighter, which had apparently broken loose. After the captain confirmed that the ship's crew was complete, the fire department's operation was terminated.

11:25 a.m.: Another hazardous materials operation
Once again, a hazardous substance leaked in the basement of the LKA. This was also stopped by the fire department and the substance was bound with chemical binders. The professional fire department was supported by the Mainz-Stadt volunteer fire department and the Schott plant fire department. Further information on this is available from the Mainz police press office.

11:32 a.m.: Fire in a thuja hedge
While colleagues were still searching for people on the Rhine and the hazardous materials operation was underway, the unit from Fire Station 1 was alerted to a burning thuja hedge in Bretzenheim.  

12:07 p.m.: Stalled ICE train and medical emergency An ICE train carrying 144 passengers
came to a standstill in the area of Wormser Straße / Dr.-Friedrich-Kirchhoff-Straße due to a technical defect. A train control system initiated an emergency brake application. One person fell and was injured. The person was given medical attention by the emergency services and an emergency doctor and then transported to a hospital in Mainz.

The train line between the Römisches Theater and Weisenau stops was closed in both directions. While first aid was being administered, the DB emergency manager informed the fire department that the train was ready to run again and that it was not necessary to evacuate the 144 passengers.

To facilitate the transport of the injured person from the train to a waiting ambulance and to minimize the risk of a fall onto the tracks, the fire department used a motorized cutter to open a section of the fence.

Once the rescue operation was complete, the fire department reinstalled the section of fence and secured it provisionally. The train line was reopened by the DB AG emergency manager once the rescue operation was complete.

The Mainz-Weisenau and Mainz-Laubenheim volunteer fire departments were on site with one vehicle each, as well as an operations command vehicle from the Mainz professional fire department. The police were on site with two vehicles.

Failure of the landline and mobile phone networks in the Mainz-Bingen district
During excavation work, a junction of a main fiber optic cable line was destroyed. This led to a failure of the landline and mobile phone networks. In the Mainz-Bingen district, the entire Bodenheim administrative district (Bodenheim, Gau-Bischofsheim, Harxheim, Lörzweiler, Nackenheim) and parts of the Rhein-Selz administrative district (Oppenheim, Nierstein, Schwabsburg, Dienheim, Dexheim, Mommenheim) were affected. In order to ensure that the emergency services, police, and fire department could be alerted in the event of an incident, the fire department equipment stores in the affected communities were manned. The population was informed about the situation via warning apps and local radio stations.

The now deserted stations of the professional fire department were manned by the volunteer fire departments of Bretzenheim, Marienborn, Mombach, and Gonsenheim.

A total of 40 emergency vehicles, 5 boats, and 170 emergency personnel were deployed to assist the population during these operations. The professional fire department's service will not end until 7 a.m. on Thursday morning. As always, the volunteer fire departments are available around the clock, both during their free time and while at work, to ensure the safety of Mainz's citizens.

In the late afternoon hours, a large vegetation fire broke out for unknown reasons near Gonsbachgärten in Mainz-Gonsenheim.

The professional fire department arrived on the scene within a very short time with three fire engines and an incident command vehicle, and 17 firefighters worked to extinguish the burning trees, bushes, and low vegetation.

Upon arrival, an area of approximately 750 m² was burning with heavy smoke. Approximately 10,000 liters of water, applied with a total of five fire hoses by several teams – some of whom were wearing breathing apparatus – brought the fire under control.

While the emergency response measures were being carried out, the police at the scene took care of closing the road to traffic, the federal police arranged for a temporary suspension of rail traffic, and the traffic controller for Mainz's public transport network reduced the speed of trams to walking pace in the affected area. The operation was completed after approximately two hours.

Members of the Bretzenheim and Marienborn volunteer fire departments were on standby. This is particularly noteworthy, as the Bretzenheim unit is celebrating its "Bretzelfest" this weekend in addition to being on call. The members of the volunteer fire
department are certainly looking forward to your visit.

Head of operations: Mr. Berghäuser Fire department
vehicles: 4 Fire department
personnel: 20

Shortly after 8:30 a.m. this Sunday morning, the fire department was alerted by an automatic fire alarm system. Near the building where the fire alarm had been triggered, the arriving firefighters were met by residents and led to an underground parking garage entrance at a building complex between Lotharstraße and Steingasse. Heavy smoke was billowing from the building. Two teams wearing breathing apparatus were immediately sent in to fight the fire. A storage room adjacent to the underground car park was fully ablaze. The heat was so intense that the teams had to retreat and it was not possible to fight the fire effectively. On the parking deck above the fire room, the asphalt had already softened to such an extent that it was bubbling and the bitumen joints were literally boiling. The incident commander raised the alert level and requested additional professional and volunteer firefighters.

The smoke escaping from the underground car park also entered apartments through open windows. These were therefore checked by the emergency services and evacuated where necessary. During the operation, an alternative access to the underground car park was found. However, it was not possible to proceed from there either due to the intense heat. Due to the high thermal load, it was necessary to constantly rotate the emergency services in order to keep the fire under control and prevent it from spreading. Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus suffered circulatory collapse and had to be treated by the emergency medical services. Fortunately, both only required outpatient treatment. A large fan from the Ingelheim fire department and a ventilation robot from the Frankfurt fire department were used to remove the heat from the building. The latter is mounted on a tracked chassis and could be driven into the burning building by remote control. The use of this fan in the underground car park made it possible to reduce the heat load to such an extent that the emergency services were able to advance to the source of the fire wearing breathing apparatus and fight the fire effectively. During the use of the fan, the smoke development initially increased. The population was therefore again asked via KATWARN to close windows and switch off ventilation systems. A resident who had returned to her apartment before the fire department gave the all-clear had to be rescued from her apartment by the fire department. She suffered mild smoke inhalation. Fortunately, there were no other injuries.

In the meantime, the fire has been reported as extinguished. However, the final extinguishing work is still ongoing. The number of emergency personnel has already been significantly reduced. In addition to around 100 firefighters from Mainz (full-time and volunteer personnel), Frankfurt, and Ingelheim, more than 40 personnel from disaster relief organizations were deployed under the leadership of the senior emergency physician and the organizational manager. They provided food and medical care for the firefighters. The Federal Agency for Technical Relief supported the firefighting and clearance measures with almost 20 personnel. In addition, around 10 police officers and other investigators from the criminal investigation department were deployed. The underground car

park was inspected by the Federal Agency for Technical Relief's construction consultant. Due to the fire damage, the underground car park and the parking deck above it are unusable until further notice. A prohibition of use was issued by the building inspectorate. However, the adjacent apartments cannot be used either. The immense support provided by the volunteers, the smooth cooperation

between the various authorities and organizations, and the supra-local assistance deserve special mention in this operation. Mayor Nino Haase was also able to see this for himself when he personally thanked the emergency services on site.

The abandoned stations of the professional fire department were manned by off-duty members of the professional fire department and volunteer fire departments. They had to deal with numerous incidents that occurred at the same time as the large-scale operation in the old town. These included a traffic accident on the A60 involving a total of four vehicles and seven people, an alarm triggered by an automatic fire alarm system (caused by burnt food), an animal rescue in the Volkspark, and a fire in a clothes dryer in Hechtsheim. Three people were injured in the fire on the second floor of a residential building and had to be taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. Let's hope that the emergency services, who will remain on duty until the shift change at 7 a.m. tomorrow, will at least have a quiet night.

Incident commander: Holger Hagen

On Sunday night, a pleasure boat crashed on the Rhine near Mainz. The badly damaged boat drifted helplessly on the Rhine with four injured people, some of whom were unconscious. Thanks to the rapid response of the fire department and police, the boat was secured and the injured were rescued.

At 1 a.m., a woman called the emergency number 112 to report that they had had an accident on the Rhine and were drifting on the river with several injured people. The dispatcher immediately alerted the Mainz fire department with the keyword "water rescue" and continued to assist the woman on the phone.

This allowed further information to be obtained about the exact location, number, and condition of the injured, and the woman was reassured. The information that there were four people on the boat, two of whom were unconscious, was passed on to the responding forces.
With four boats from the professional fire department and the Mainz volunteer fire departments, supported by the water police and the Wiesbaden fire department, the heavily damaged boat was secured to a Mainz fire department boat at Fischtorplatz.

The recreational boat was towed to the Mainz shore and secured there so that emergency services could board the boat to provide first aid to the injured. The fire department and rescue services treated and rescued the four injured persons, who were all conscious by then.

Of the four injured, two were classified as seriously injured and two as slightly injured. The boat was then towed to the industrial port, where it can be secured and examined by the water police.

The cause of the accident and the exact course of events are being investigated by the water police.

Head of operations: Nicolas Moutty
BF/FF vehicles: 5+1 boat / 3+3 boats
BF/FF personnel: 16/16

The Mainz Fire Department was called to a daycare center in Mainz-Mombach on Monday afternoon at around 3:30 p.m.

A 3-year-old girl had been playing on a wooden climbing frame when her leg got stuck between a wooden crossbar and a rung, and she was unable to free herself. When the teachers' attempts to free the child from her predicament failed, they called the fire department.

When the fire department arrived, the teachers were caring for the child and supporting her so that she did not suffer any serious injuries. The emergency personnel were able to free the child quickly and safely. To do so, they had to cut through a wooden rung with a hacksaw. After being examined by the emergency medical services, no serious injuries were found. The child's mother was informed by the daycare center management and immediately made her way to the daycare center to pick up her child, who was unharmed.

Head of operations: Christian Mölleck Fire department
vehicles: 2/0 Fire department
personnel: 8/0