On Monday, May 4, 2020, at around 2:30 p.m., the Mainz Fire Department received an emergency call from a resident of an apartment building in Mainz-Weisenau. Based on the information provided, it was assumed that there was a kitchen fire, which required alerting both professional fire stations, the Weisenau Volunteer Fire Department, and the emergency medical services.

While en route, other residents of the building reported that the stairwell in front of their apartment was filled with smoke. After detailed questioning by the control center employee, the callers were instructed to remain in the safe and smoke-free area of their apartments until the fire department arrived.

The caller and her three children were able to escape to the balcony of the apartment until the fire department arrived. Fortunately, the mother managed to extinguish most of the fire herself beforehand. The fire department rescued the family from the balcony and carried out follow-up extinguishing work in the kitchen. All residents appeared to be uninjured, but were transported to a hospital in Mainz for further examination.

All other residents were able to remain in their apartments and were spared further effects of the fire.

A total of around 30 firefighters from the Mainz fire department with 10 vehicles were called to the scene. They were joined by emergency medical services, the police with several patrol cars, and the criminal investigation department.

Head of operations: Fire Chief Marius Dick
Vehicles BF/FF: 10 vehicles
Personnel BF/FF: approx. 30
Image rights belong to the Mainz city administration.

Late on Friday evening at 11:22 p.m., the fire department received a report of an apartment fire on Schwedenstraße in Mainz-Bretzenheim. The fire department control center then alerted emergency personnel from both professional fire stations and the Mainz-Bretzenheim volunteer fire department.

When the emergency services arrived, they observed heavy smoke and flames coming from a window and the area around the front door of a two-story annex. At this point, it was unclear whether there were still people inside the building.

The fire department immediately prepared to fight the fire and search for people with two teams wearing breathing apparatus and positioned the turntable ladder. Shortly after the initial reconnaissance and while the setup phase was still underway, the fire suddenly spread throughout the room on the ground floor of the building (known as a flash-over). The flash-over caused the affected area to burst into flames instantly, with high flames shooting out of the window and entrance door and spreading to the wooden exterior cladding and the attic. 

 One team immediately entered the burning room to search for people and fight the fire with a hose, while another team used another hose to prevent the fire from spreading to the roof. The turntable ladder was used to prepare a barrier to the directly adjacent neighboring building.

Once the fire in the apartment had been brought under control, a team went into the attic to search for people there and extinguish the fire in the roof area and the wooden paneling. A search of the apartment and the attic for people using a thermal imaging camera proved negative; no one was injured.

Both neighboring buildings were checked for smoke spread and the apartment where the fire broke out was mechanically ventilated.  

The fire was extinguished by three teams wearing breathing apparatus. Due to the intensity of the fire, extensive follow-up extinguishing work was necessary. In consultation with the criminal investigation department, the fire debris was carried outside and extinguished there, as objects, especially foam, kept reigniting. 

 The apartment was completely destroyed by the fire and is now uninhabitable. The intense heat caused the plaster to fall off the walls, and all combustible objects in the apartment were engulfed in flames.
The criminal investigation department has launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. The operation was completed at 1:30 a.m.

In addition to the fire department, the following were also on site: the rescue service with an ambulance, the police with several patrol cars, and the criminal investigation department.

Head of operations: Fire Chief René Adler
Vehicles BF/FF: 1 KdoW, 1 ELW, 2 HLF, 1 DLK, 1 MZF / 1 HLF
Personnel BF/FF: 19 officers from the professional fire department / 8 firefighters from the Mainz-Bretzenheim fire department

This Saturday afternoon, the Mainz Fire Department was kept busy with several calls. The calm of what had been a fairly quiet shift was interrupted by an alarm at Fire Station 2 at 1:25 p.m. for a fire inspection in Hintere Bleiche. An elderly, slightly confused lady had forgotten to turn off her stove, which overheated as a result. The fire department turned off the stove.

Less than half an hour after the first call, the Mainz fire department control center received a report of an open fire in the area of the large sandpit in Mainz-Gonsenheim. The units that responded to the call found a burned area of approximately 300 square meters. The fire, which had already been extinguished, was doused with water as a precaution to prevent it from reigniting. At the same time as this call, other crews were dealing with a tree where a branch had broken off at a height of about 5 meters and was threatening to fall on two parked cars. With the help of the turntable ladder, the branch was expertly removed without causing any damage to the two cars.

At 2:42 p.m., the fire department control center received a report of a beeping smoke alarm in the Kirschgarten area. Fortunately, it was only a false alarm, so no major operation was required. However, a somewhat larger operation was not long in coming. At 3:21 p.m., the fire department was called to a burning gas grill on the 5th floor of a building on Rheinallee. Old grease had probably ignited while barbecuing, causing flames to form in the grease tray. This then caused the grill's gas hose to burn through, resulting in even stronger flames. In this situation, too, the fire department was on the scene immediately and was able to extinguish the fire with a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher. As a precaution, the gas cylinder was cooled with water until it returned to normal ambient temperature. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the apartment. For this reason, the Mainz fire department would like to remind everyone that a barbecue should never be left unattended. If the gas cylinder had been exposed to the flames for longer, the outcome of the operation would probably have been worse. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Less than an hour later, the fire department was called to several locations in the city center. Several trees had been damaged by minor gusts of wind. However, the fire department arrived at each location before any property damage or personal injury occurred. The fire department, rescue services, and police were on site at all locations and had the situation under control at all times.

Head of operations: Fire Inspector Sebastian Schmitt

A sensational operation of a special kind took place on Saturday afternoon in Mainz's old town. A family of geese had apparently planned a family outing to Mainz city center. Together with their young, the pair of Egyptian geese had got caught up in traffic in the Römerwall area. Several emergency callers reported a family of geese on the road to the fire department control center, which led to significant traffic disruptions in the area.

The Mainz fire department, which had been called to assist with the animals, arrived at the scene to find a scattered family of geese at the intersection. The young geese, which were not yet able to fly, were apparently still having problems with their parents' traffic education. The crew of the fire department's small emergency vehicle was able to capture the offspring. However, arresting the parents proved to be rather difficult.

Even the police, who had to direct traffic in the meantime to prevent any danger to the emergency services and the young wild geese, were unable to assist with the arrest.

After several attempts, the capture attempts were abandoned and the plan to drive the young animals to the Rhine together with their parents was given up. However, in order not to completely prevent a family reunion, the little rascals were then released by the fire department in a parking area of the adjacent public park. Fortunately, the parents kept a close eye on their young, so that they were able to welcome them back shortly after they were released.

The fire department issued a verbal warning to the wild geese, asking them to stay away from traffic in the future. After the goose family said goodbye to their rescuers, they waddled away together toward the meadow. It is to be hoped that the geese's next traffic education lesson will take place outside the city center.  

Head of operations: Senior Fire Chief Franziska Wondraschek Fire department
vehicles: Small emergency vehicle Fire department
personnel: 2 officers