|
|
|
|
|
3 October 2025
|
Featured FRI Magazine article: The City of Hanover Fire Department, Germany by Willie Olivier, fleet operations and technical services, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue and Michael Hintz, media liaison, City of Hanover Fire and Rescue Service
City of Hanover Fire and Rescue Service Station1
The Hanover District
|
The City of Hanover is the capital of Lower Saxony
|
Fire Chief Claus Lange
|
Willie Olivier and Michael Hintz
|
The two locker rooms for PPE; one for fire and one for ambulance
|
The two locker rooms for PPE; one for fire and one for ambulance
|
The sleeping quarters
|
One of the new R9 million fire engines
|
A special street sweeper to clean up post-accident and one of the ambulances
|
The LUF60 remote controlled, diesel-powered mobile firefighting unit
|
A container truck loading the container with the UlS60 and a PPV fan
|
Regional control centre, Hanover
|
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: The City of Hanover Fire Department, Germany written by Willie Olivier, fleet operations and technical services, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue and Michael Hintz, media liaison, City of Hanover Fire and Rescue Service, Germany (FRI Vol 3 no 8). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
The City of Hanover Fire Department, Germany
By Willie Olivier, fleet operations and technical services, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue and Michael Hintz, media liaison, City of Hanover Fire and Rescue Service
In June this year, Willie Olivier and Timothy Ackerman of City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue visited the Hanover Fire and Rescue Service in Germany. The opportunity arose during their visit to Interschutz, Hanover. They were met with enthusiasm by chief fire officer, director Claus Lange and press and liaison officer, Michael Hintz.
“On the last day of Interschutz, 14 June 2015, myself and Tim Ackerman met up with the CFO of Hanover Fire and Rescue, Chief Lange. I have met him previously during his visit to Cape Town to share his soccer world cup experience with us. He said we must be ready at 9h30 as he will send his driver to pick us up. My self and Tim were amazed as at 9h30 on the dot the driver stopped in front of our hotel, not a minute before or after (German precision). Communication was difficult though, as he could not speak a word of English and we spoke no German,” said Willie Olivier, fleet operations and technical services, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue. “We had coffee, exchanged gifts, memorabilia and badges and after a long discussion, we found out that they are working on a similar operational system as the City of Cape Town; even their shift systems are the same.
“Accompanied by Michael Hintz, we visited their media centre where he provided us with a run down on the workings of Hanover Fire. Afterwards we visited the command and control centre and once again the similarities immediately struck us.
Hanover District
Situated in Lower Saxony, Germany, the Hanover District (without the state capital) has a population of 608 973 covering an area of 2 086km2, averaging 291 residents per square kilometre. The total area of 2 290km² has a population of 1 125 933 based in 16 cities and four communities (Garbsen has 63 290 residents). Hanover District (without the state capital) has 211 volunteer fire brigades and two full-time industrial fire brigades.
City of Hanover
The City of Hanover is situated in the Hanover District and is the capital of Lower Saxony. The City has a population of 516 960 in an area of 204km² averaging 2 550 residents per square kilometre and manages 34kms of highway, 166kms railway for public transport and 19kms of subway-system.
Hanover Fire and Rescue Service
The City of Hanover’s Fire and Rescue Service was founded in 1880 and is currently headed up by Chief Claus Lange. Chief Lange has been in charge since 1997.
The City of Hanover’s Fire and Rescue Service is the control centre for fire protection, rescue and ambulance services and is a joint venture between the state capital of Hanover and Hanover District. The City of Hanover Fire Department is responsible for fire safety, fire protection, firefighting, emergency medical response, disaster management and civil protection.
The City of Hanover’s Fire and Rescue Service consists of the professional fire brigade of the City of Hanover, 17 volunteer fire and rescue stations for its volunteer fire fighters, five municipal fire brigades and two full-time industrial fire brigades.
This modern fire brigade has 750 employees based in five municipal fire stations. In addition, there are four aid agencies and three private fire stations. The City of Hanover Fire Department annually responds to approximately 65 000 calls and operates over 300 vehicles. The service runs a 24-hour shift system with 48 hours off.
Visit
The headquarters (Station 1) is situated in central Hanover and boasts a 28-bay machine bay that can easily house up to 40 vehicles. “We visited the newly-built Fire Station 1 next to the Hanover industrial area,” said Olivier. “What an impressive building. Wow! State-of-the-art in every aspect. But what can you expect for 15 million Euros. The rooms and kitchen look like a hotel inside.”
“They have two large locker rooms for their personal protective equipment (PPE); one for fire and one for ambulance. The lockers are open, not enclosed or locked. The PPE was still neat and clean and impressively smart as they have just had a major change in new technology.”
“As their current headquarters needs to make space for new city development before 2018, the headquarters, control and media centre will move to Station 1, which will then become the new headquarters.”
“They have a very good private enterprise partnership with major industrial companies who assist with the finance of their projects. Michael Hintz provided us with a comprehensive tour of the facilities, discussing their vehicles and equipment. We found it interesting that their standard response for structural fires is as follows:
“Responding to serious motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), they deploy a rescue pumper, ambulance and a doctor as well as a helicopter, if needed. For accidents on the Auto Bahn, they also send out a mobile crane.”
“A unique feature of their state-of-the-art fire engines is that even the back wheels can turn for use in confined spaces. Both axles are steering axles and the rear is computerised. The vehicle cost R9 000 000 fully equipped with fire and rescue tools. Another important feature was the ergonomical design of the fire engine’s compartment storage units, optimising the use of space and even weight distribution.”
“Another interesting unit was a diesel powered mobile fire fighting machine, which is equipped with air blower and a water beam fog. The machine is able to clear the hazardous obstacles by blowing the mixture of air and water. It is designed to withstand the rigor operating conditions and confined spaces. Hanover Fire uses the LUF60 in rail tunnels, aircraft hangers, parking garages, chemical plants etc. The monitor nozzle has a flow rate up to 3 000 litres per minute and it can blow the water beam as far as 80m. Its rubber track system enables the robot to climb stairs, operate at a 20 degree angle with the ventilation tube at a maximum 45 degree angle and in temperatures of 205 degrees Celsius,” added Olivier.
Hanover fire safety, prevention and protection
The Lower Saxony Fire Protection Act states that municipalities with professional fire brigades are responsible for fire safety and fire protection. This includes preventive measures, minimising the probability of occurrence and the extent of damage from fires and fire suppression. This includes, in particular, early fire detection, rescuing people and effective fire fighting.
The formal fire brigades’ responsibilities include structural, technical and commercial fire safety and protection. For provincial capital Hanover, the fire department does not only fulfil its legal/mandated function but also additional tasks. These mainly include:
The fire and risk management division is the operational link in the safety chain. Its aim is to take defensive measures against fire and other hazards (eg atomic, biological and chemical substances) in order to eliminate these effectively. This integrates adequate emergency response planning. The following (exemplary) scope of duties fall under deflective fire and risk management:
Medical response/ambulance service
As legislated by the Lower Saxony RettDG, the City of Hanover City is also responsible for the land-based emergency and rescue service in its urban areas including the Hemminger Districts, Westerfeld and Devese. It is responsible for ensuring a comprehensive, needs-based rescue service to the public. These include emergency care (medical care of a critically injured or ill person), intensive care transport and patient transport (transport of sick, injured people).
The City of Hanover operates five emergency medical services’ (ambulance) bases for its emergency services response, situated at hospitals. Emergency medical rescue resources include 14 ambulances and five emergency doctor’s vehicles. There are also 15 patient transport ambulances. There is also a minimum of two ambulances per fire station.
A rescue helicopter is responsible for the Hanover District.
The ambulance services’ goal is to continually ensure the level of safety through the use of a suitable rescue means within an impact time of less than 15 minutes. The maximum waiting period for patient transport is 30 minutes.
In addition to supplying a professional emergency service, the Hanover Fire Department is also responsible for:
Disaster management and civil protection
The provincial capital of Hanover is the Disaster Protection Authority according to the Lower Saxony Disaster Protection Act (NKatSG). The fire brigade is also responsible for the administrative coordination and management of all disaster management and civil protection matters. Responsibilities include, inter alia:
Region control centre Hanover
Since January 2006, the Hanover region and Hanover City Council has had a joint control centre for fire protection, technical rescue, emergency services (emergency rescue and ambulance) and special incidents and services. The regional control centre has an operational area of approximately 2 300 square kilometres with a population of 1,2 million people making it one of the largest integrated control centres in Germany.
Since July 2008, the region control centre also acts as the central hub for intensive care transport in Lower Saxony, managing both air and road intensive care transports and transfers. Both authorities entered into a mutual agreement guaranteeing technical and operational cooperation between fire fighters and public servants to ensure a high-quality and efficient service.
The region control centre handles more than 2 200 calls a day and responds to over 500 emergencies. The regional control centre also houses the disaster management and control authority for the City of Hanover.
Staff complement
Volunteer service
Hanover’s volunteer fire brigade is an indispensable and crucial part of the fire brigade. It consists of 17 local fire departments in which more than 700 women and men provide a volunteer service. The project is coordinated by the city fire chief. Together with the professional fire brigade, it meets the mandatory obligations of the state capital, Hanover, as govern by the Lower Saxony Fire Protection Act.
This includes:
Moreover, it is involved in many special operations eg hazardous materials safety, management and communications, catering and care, water rescue, heavy technical rescue and flood protection. These are specialised units that consist of full-time and volunteer emergency services equipped with high-tech gear and apparatus.
In addition to the typical fire fighting and emergency response tasks, the volunteer firemen also assist with the child and youth group.
Since 1964, Hanover Fire Brigade offers not only training to youngsters but also a fully-fledge, competent youth brigade for boys and girls aged 10 to 18 years. All 17 local fire departments are as well in the Spielmanns- and Fanfarenzug volunteer fire fighters Hanover have a youth fire service.
In the children's fire brigades, boys and girls aged six to 12 years playfully prepare themselves to join the youth fire brigade. Training children in fire fighting provides essential guidance and direction building young talent. Hanover’s child and youth fire brigades have around 480 members.
The City of Hanover Fire Department, Germany
By Willie Olivier, fleet operations and technical services, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue and Michael Hintz, media liaison, City of Hanover Fire and Rescue Service
In June this year, Willie Olivier and Timothy Ackerman of City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue visited the Hanover Fire and Rescue Service in Germany. The opportunity arose during their visit to Interschutz, Hanover. They were met with enthusiasm by chief fire officer, director Claus Lange and press and liaison officer, Michael Hintz.
“On the last day of Interschutz, 14 June 2015, myself and Tim Ackerman met up with the CFO of Hanover Fire and Rescue, Chief Lange. I have met him previously during his visit to Cape Town to share his soccer world cup experience with us. He said we must be ready at 9h30 as he will send his driver to pick us up. My self and Tim were amazed as at 9h30 on the dot the driver stopped in front of our hotel, not a minute before or after (German precision). Communication was difficult though, as he could not speak a word of English and we spoke no German,” said Willie Olivier, fleet operations and technical services, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue. “We had coffee, exchanged gifts, memorabilia and badges and after a long discussion, we found out that they are working on a similar operational system as the City of Cape Town; even their shift systems are the same.
“Accompanied by Michael Hintz, we visited their media centre where he provided us with a run down on the workings of Hanover Fire. Afterwards we visited the command and control centre and once again the similarities immediately struck us.
Hanover District
Situated in Lower Saxony, Germany, the Hanover District (without the state capital) has a population of 608 973 covering an area of 2 086km2, averaging 291 residents per square kilometre. The total area of 2 290km² has a population of 1 125 933 based in 16 cities and four communities (Garbsen has 63 290 residents). Hanover District (without the state capital) has 211 volunteer fire brigades and two full-time industrial fire brigades.
City of Hanover
The City of Hanover is situated in the Hanover District and is the capital of Lower Saxony. The City has a population of 516 960 in an area of 204km² averaging 2 550 residents per square kilometre and manages 34kms of highway, 166kms railway for public transport and 19kms of subway-system.
Hanover Fire and Rescue Service
The City of Hanover’s Fire and Rescue Service was founded in 1880 and is currently headed up by Chief Claus Lange. Chief Lange has been in charge since 1997.
The City of Hanover’s Fire and Rescue Service is the control centre for fire protection, rescue and ambulance services and is a joint venture between the state capital of Hanover and Hanover District. The City of Hanover Fire Department is responsible for fire safety, fire protection, firefighting, emergency medical response, disaster management and civil protection.
The City of Hanover’s Fire and Rescue Service consists of the professional fire brigade of the City of Hanover, 17 volunteer fire and rescue stations for its volunteer fire fighters, five municipal fire brigades and two full-time industrial fire brigades.
This modern fire brigade has 750 employees based in five municipal fire stations. In addition, there are four aid agencies and three private fire stations. The City of Hanover Fire Department annually responds to approximately 65 000 calls and operates over 300 vehicles. The service runs a 24-hour shift system with 48 hours off.
Visit
The headquarters (Station 1) is situated in central Hanover and boasts a 28-bay machine bay that can easily house up to 40 vehicles. “We visited the newly-built Fire Station 1 next to the Hanover industrial area,” said Olivier. “What an impressive building. Wow! State-of-the-art in every aspect. But what can you expect for 15 million Euros. The rooms and kitchen look like a hotel inside.”
“They have two large locker rooms for their personal protective equipment (PPE); one for fire and one for ambulance. The lockers are open, not enclosed or locked. The PPE was still neat and clean and impressively smart as they have just had a major change in new technology.”
“As their current headquarters needs to make space for new city development before 2018, the headquarters, control and media centre will move to Station 1, which will then become the new headquarters.”
“They have a very good private enterprise partnership with major industrial companies who assist with the finance of their projects. Michael Hintz provided us with a comprehensive tour of the facilities, discussing their vehicles and equipment. We found it interesting that their standard response for structural fires is as follows:
- 2 Rescue pumpers and 4 crew
- 1 Ladder unit and 2 crew
- 1 Command vehicle with driver and officer in charge"
“Responding to serious motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), they deploy a rescue pumper, ambulance and a doctor as well as a helicopter, if needed. For accidents on the Auto Bahn, they also send out a mobile crane.”
“A unique feature of their state-of-the-art fire engines is that even the back wheels can turn for use in confined spaces. Both axles are steering axles and the rear is computerised. The vehicle cost R9 000 000 fully equipped with fire and rescue tools. Another important feature was the ergonomical design of the fire engine’s compartment storage units, optimising the use of space and even weight distribution.”
“Another interesting unit was a diesel powered mobile fire fighting machine, which is equipped with air blower and a water beam fog. The machine is able to clear the hazardous obstacles by blowing the mixture of air and water. It is designed to withstand the rigor operating conditions and confined spaces. Hanover Fire uses the LUF60 in rail tunnels, aircraft hangers, parking garages, chemical plants etc. The monitor nozzle has a flow rate up to 3 000 litres per minute and it can blow the water beam as far as 80m. Its rubber track system enables the robot to climb stairs, operate at a 20 degree angle with the ventilation tube at a maximum 45 degree angle and in temperatures of 205 degrees Celsius,” added Olivier.
Hanover fire safety, prevention and protection
The Lower Saxony Fire Protection Act states that municipalities with professional fire brigades are responsible for fire safety and fire protection. This includes preventive measures, minimising the probability of occurrence and the extent of damage from fires and fire suppression. This includes, in particular, early fire detection, rescuing people and effective fire fighting.
The formal fire brigades’ responsibilities include structural, technical and commercial fire safety and protection. For provincial capital Hanover, the fire department does not only fulfil its legal/mandated function but also additional tasks. These mainly include:
- Fire protection demonstrations
- Issuing of fire protection building permits
- Comments for "third parties"
- Consultations
- Fire safety education and information
- Signing off on events and meeting places
- Testing of firefighting equipment
- Fire protection in Hanover
- Fire protection in the greater Hanover region
The fire and risk management division is the operational link in the safety chain. Its aim is to take defensive measures against fire and other hazards (eg atomic, biological and chemical substances) in order to eliminate these effectively. This integrates adequate emergency response planning. The following (exemplary) scope of duties fall under deflective fire and risk management:
- Fire protection/fire fighting
- Assistance with incidents and emergencies
- Hazmat including decontamination
- Animal rescues
- Administrative police planning and organising explosive ordnance disposal measures
- Implementation of fire safety guards
- Operation of command/management centre of the Hanover Fire Brigade
Medical response/ambulance service
As legislated by the Lower Saxony RettDG, the City of Hanover City is also responsible for the land-based emergency and rescue service in its urban areas including the Hemminger Districts, Westerfeld and Devese. It is responsible for ensuring a comprehensive, needs-based rescue service to the public. These include emergency care (medical care of a critically injured or ill person), intensive care transport and patient transport (transport of sick, injured people).
The City of Hanover operates five emergency medical services’ (ambulance) bases for its emergency services response, situated at hospitals. Emergency medical rescue resources include 14 ambulances and five emergency doctor’s vehicles. There are also 15 patient transport ambulances. There is also a minimum of two ambulances per fire station.
A rescue helicopter is responsible for the Hanover District.
The ambulance services’ goal is to continually ensure the level of safety through the use of a suitable rescue means within an impact time of less than 15 minutes. The maximum waiting period for patient transport is 30 minutes.
In addition to supplying a professional emergency service, the Hanover Fire Department is also responsible for:
- The implementation of the operational emergency services and the fire brigade officer in the emergency service (organisations such as Arbeiter Samariter Bund (German medical help organisation), Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (German Red Cross), JUH (German organisation of St John Ambulance), Malteser Hilsdienst (MHD) and three private companies
- Provisional admissions according to §18 Lower Saxony Law on Assistance and Protection Measures for the Mentally Ill (NPsychKG)
- The implementation of the tasks of the region control centre, including the operation of the central support service for intensive care transports in Lower Saxony
- Local incident command services with conducting physician and organisational director for the City and Region Hanover
Disaster management and civil protection
The provincial capital of Hanover is the Disaster Protection Authority according to the Lower Saxony Disaster Protection Act (NKatSG). The fire brigade is also responsible for the administrative coordination and management of all disaster management and civil protection matters. Responsibilities include, inter alia:
- Development of operational models for major events or hazardous incidents, risk assessments and resource planning
- Analysis of current local, national and international risks and the development of proactive procedures for the City of Hanover as Federal Disaster Management Agency
- Planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction
- Establishing, developing and training of various organisations and institutions for disaster management and civil protection
- Monitoring and implementing the Disaster Management Plan
- Managing inter-agency disaster planning with other disaster management authorities
- Ensuring and managing civil-military cooperation (CIMIC)
- Personal protection and civil defence
- Public information and warning notifications
Region control centre Hanover
Since January 2006, the Hanover region and Hanover City Council has had a joint control centre for fire protection, technical rescue, emergency services (emergency rescue and ambulance) and special incidents and services. The regional control centre has an operational area of approximately 2 300 square kilometres with a population of 1,2 million people making it one of the largest integrated control centres in Germany.
Since July 2008, the region control centre also acts as the central hub for intensive care transport in Lower Saxony, managing both air and road intensive care transports and transfers. Both authorities entered into a mutual agreement guaranteeing technical and operational cooperation between fire fighters and public servants to ensure a high-quality and efficient service.
The region control centre handles more than 2 200 calls a day and responds to over 500 emergencies. The regional control centre also houses the disaster management and control authority for the City of Hanover.
Staff complement
- 1 head of the control centre
- 1 deputy
- 4 supervisors
- 48 control operators in 4 shifts
- 3 control operators (day shift)
- 5 employees for electronic data processing, radio technology and communications engineering
Volunteer service
Hanover’s volunteer fire brigade is an indispensable and crucial part of the fire brigade. It consists of 17 local fire departments in which more than 700 women and men provide a volunteer service. The project is coordinated by the city fire chief. Together with the professional fire brigade, it meets the mandatory obligations of the state capital, Hanover, as govern by the Lower Saxony Fire Protection Act.
This includes:
- Fire protection
- Accident and emergency response
- Fire safety services
- Fire safety education and information
Moreover, it is involved in many special operations eg hazardous materials safety, management and communications, catering and care, water rescue, heavy technical rescue and flood protection. These are specialised units that consist of full-time and volunteer emergency services equipped with high-tech gear and apparatus.
In addition to the typical fire fighting and emergency response tasks, the volunteer firemen also assist with the child and youth group.
Since 1964, Hanover Fire Brigade offers not only training to youngsters but also a fully-fledge, competent youth brigade for boys and girls aged 10 to 18 years. All 17 local fire departments are as well in the Spielmanns- and Fanfarenzug volunteer fire fighters Hanover have a youth fire service.
In the children's fire brigades, boys and girls aged six to 12 years playfully prepare themselves to join the youth fire brigade. Training children in fire fighting provides essential guidance and direction building young talent. Hanover’s child and youth fire brigades have around 480 members.