Mostly it is man’s fault: Fire departments in Seelbach, Schuttertal and Reichenbach prepare for wildfires – Ettenheim & surrounding area

The departments from Seelbach, Schuttertal and Reichenbach practiced fighting vegetation fires during a joint training day. Such fires are almost always caused by people – either intentionally or through carelessness.

However, according to the Interior Ministry, real forest fires in which trees burn are extremely rare: “In Baden-Württemberg, these are mostly wildfires on embankments or in fields, as well as fires on the forest floor.” The total damage caused by vegetation fires in Baden-Württemberg is estimated at around 200,000 euros per year.

In order to be well prepared for the worst case scenario, the Seelbach fire department organized a comprehensive training day on fighting vegetation fires. The training was led by Fire – International Disaster Protection Germany, an association based in Osnabrück that was founded in 2002 as a voluntary network of professional and volunteer firefighters.

The training day offered the participants valuable practical experience, according to a report from the fire department. “Fire”, an organization with international expertise in fighting vegetation fires, introduced current operational tactics that were also successfully used in recent operations, including forest fires in Saxony and on the Brocken.

Fire on the field creates a realistic scenario

Around 30 firefighters from the fire departments of Seelbach, Schuttertal and Lahr-Reichenbach took part in the training day. District forester Hans-Jörg Fries also took part in the event to learn more about the fire department’s operational tactics for vegetation fires.

The training day was divided into theoretical and practical units, the fire department reports. The topics included safety during operations, the use of personal protective equipment and tactical measures for vegetation fires. The firefighters gained insights into the special challenges that vegetation fires bring with them and how the risks can be minimized through targeted preparation measures.

In the practical part, the “Fire” instructors use realistic scenarios in which a fire has been started in a field. The participants are then trained in the use of hand tools and fire extinguisher backpacks, the discharge of water from a moving fire engine and the use of hose material.

Commanders Achim Zehnle (Schuttertal Fire Department) and Christian Vögele (Seelbach Fire Department) were very satisfied at the end of the training, they say. They stressed the importance of such events to strengthen the cooperation between the fire departments in Schuttertal. Both commanders agree that the very good cooperation between the departments should be continued.

People are usually to blame

For a forest to burn, it must be one thing above all: dry. If it is also very hot, this happens much faster because hot air can absorb more moisture. Because it burns more often when it is hot, but without the heat directly starting the fire. Even on a very hot day, with 40 degrees or more, the air temperature is still a long way from the 300 to 400 degrees Celsius needed to ignite dried plant material. Nevertheless, the dried plant material is very flammable. A moment of carelessness is enough: a discarded cigarette, a hot catalytic converter on a car parked on a dry meadow, a neglected barbecue area or even a deliberately started fire can quickly lead to a fire, the SWR informs on its website. According to the environmental organization WWF Germany, around 96 percent of forest fires are caused by negligent behavior or arson.