Burning houses, people in lifts, hazardous substances or storms – the Linz professional fire brigade completed almost 4,200 operations last year. “An average of twelve missions per day illustrate the great workload that the professional fire brigade’s forces complete every day for the safety of the population,” praises Mayor Klaus Luger (SP).
Fire operations remain constant
The number of fire incidents remained roughly constant compared to the previous year. A total of 448 fires had to be extinguished, including 107 building, 32 vehicle and 99 garbage fires. There were also 953 reporting alarms. The new fire director Stefan Krausbar attributes this to preventive work, among other things. On the one hand, the expert knowledge already flows into the planning of new buildings, on the other hand, the professional fire brigade is closely involved in large construction sites such as the A26 tunnel or the football stadiums.
Fewer technical missions
The number of technical deployments has fallen slightly. In total there were 2515, 250 fewer than the year before. The fire brigade had to rescue 861 people, 274 of them from defective elevators and 28 from traffic accidents. 203 apartments were opened. The use of animals has decreased significantly – from 650 to 405. This includes 51 bee, wasp and hornet operations, 23 animal transports, 285 animals were freed from emergencies and 46 dead were recovered. Securing work was carried out 547 times, including 298 on roads, for example when there was an oil slick, 127 on buildings and 122 during storms. Then in 2022 there were still 73 deployments of hazardous materials, 54 of which were caused by escaping gas.
In the past year, technical improvements have increased the efficiency of the professional fire brigade. The so-called Löwengang, an extension to the main fire station on Wiener Strasse, enables the emergency services to dress in a time-efficient manner and thus to move out more quickly. The technically improved command and control system enables the emergency services to be networked more efficiently.
No staffing issues
While the admission hurdles are being lowered by the police, this is not an issue for the Linz professional fire brigade. “We currently still have enough applicants as young firefighters,” says City Councilor Michael Raml (FP), who is responsible for firefighting. According to Krausbar, people with a technical apprenticeship are particularly in demand.
Anyone who wants to see the main fire station in person will have the opportunity to do so on June 24th. On the occasion of its 90th anniversary, the professional fire brigade opens its doors and offers a varied program. “We’re really looking forward to it,” says Krausbar.
Christian Diabl
