Forest fire in Medebach: Fire brigade on a large scale for people and nature!

Forest fire in Medebach: Fire brigade on a large scale for people and nature!

Last week the fire department in Medebach had its hands full. On Saturday, August 9th, a forest fire broke out there around 1:30 p.m. and quickly became larger. As 112-magazin.de reports, an area of ​​around 1.5 hectares was affected. In order to tame the flames, firefighters from Korbach and the surrounding area were called in. Two tank fire engines from Korbach support the water supply in the difficult terrain. The operation lasted several hours, so that operational readiness was restored after around seven hours.

Before the fire, the Korbach fire engine was already in action in the city center because an alarm from a fire alarm system was triggered. But fortunately no intervention was necessary. Shortly after the forest fire, around 6:00 p.m., the core city fire department was called again to the old town to transport a person out of a building with a turntable ladder.

Operations in the region

The challenges for the fire service also come in the context of an increasing danger from forest fires. These are favored by rising temperatures and dry periods caused by climate change. For example, in 2023, over 1,200 hectares of forest damage was caused by fire in Germany. Last year it was over 3,000 hectares, which is the highest value in the last 30 years. Notably, the most common causes of forest fires are more likely to be human in nature, such as arson or negligence, while only 27 fires in 2023 were of natural origin, as Statista notes.

Another example of the rapid spread of fire in the region was an operation on June 17, 2022 in Korbach-Eppe, where a very quick reaction had to be made to prevent a larger forest fire. Here, residents reported smoke development in the Eschenberg forest area. Thanks to the early alarm and rapid localization of the scene, the emergency services, who arrived with a total of five fire departments and several tank fire engines, were able to quickly bring the fire under control and prevent anything worse from happening, as the Korbach fire brigade reports.

A call for caution

The recent incidents should be seen as a dire warning call. Raising awareness of the risk of forest fires is particularly important in times of extreme heat and drought. The fire brigade is always ready and well networked locally, but the citizens also have a responsibility to contribute to prevention through careful behavior. Forest fires can not only cause significant damage to nature, but can also endanger the health of the population through the release of fine dust.

The Cem infrastructure to support the fire department, as the linked reports show, is essential. But the most important thing remains: with a good hand and a conscious approach to our environment, we can contain the spread of such fires.