New office for fire and disaster control: Oldenburg in action!

New office for fire and disaster control: Oldenburg in action!

A lot is currently being done for civil defense and disaster protection in the Oldenburg district. On the initiative of Weser courier The establishment of a new office for fire and disaster control and emergency services was initiated. From the beginning of 2024, Karsten Bilger, an experienced firefighter who has been active in the Ahlhorn volunteer fire department since his youth and has headed the fire department's technical headquarters (FTZ) in Ganderkesee since 2014, will take over this position. This restructuring follows intensive discussions about optimizing disaster protection in the district.

Christian Pundt, the district administrator of the Oldenburg district, explains that the creation of a separate office is necessary because the area of ​​disaster control is too large for the public order office. Saxony-Anhalt stands out here: the state is one of the few in the old Federal Republic to have its own disaster control office. A central focus of the new office will be the fuel supply for the fire brigade and police in the event of major emergencies. To ensure this, local gas stations were converted.

Important measures and developments

In the coming years, the district plans to largely electrify its fleet, which will reduce the need for fuel. In addition, a response has already been made to the growing danger of vegetation fires and a specialist unit has been founded to combat such fires. To ensure communication between the emergency services in the event of a power failure, eight emergency power trailers were purchased. Pundt pointed out that photovoltaic systems do not work during power outages because they rely on an intact power grid.

In rural areas, the commitment of volunteer fire departments and aid organizations is of central importance. Civil defense and disaster control play an important role in the basic training of new firefighters. In order to raise citizens' awareness of self-precaution, a flyer on disaster prevention is being prepared, which will later be distributed to households. Pundt emphasizes that the topic of disaster protection was a more familiar term in the 1980s, but current events are bringing it back into focus.

The legal framework

Civil protection in Germany is regulated by the Federal Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Act (ZSKG). Loud BBK Civil protection includes all tasks of the federal government in civil protection as well as the municipalities and states in disaster control. The essential tasks include self-protection, warning the population and measures to protect health and cultural assets. In the event of disasters on a national scale, states and municipalities can request support from the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, the Federal Police or even the Bundeswehr.

In view of global changes, civil protection and disaster control have a high priority in the district administration. Municipalities are already thinking about creating protective spaces, the so-called “cat protection lighthouses”. Karsten Bilger also emphasizes the need for regular updates to disaster protection plans in order to be prepared for ever-changing threats.