History of the Cottbus fire brigade

The history of the Cottbus fire brigade with its development and technology under the motto "Rescue - Extinguish - Rescue - Protect" goes back over 150 years.

The fire department of the city of Cottbus before 1863

In March 1671 there was a major fire in the city of Cottbus , which broke out in the back mill of the city mill (today Spreestrasse) and after a short time spread across the entire city. Four citizens were killed and around 300 houses burned down. Thereupon, for the first time in Brandenburg, the Great Elector ( Friedrich Wilhelm ) ordered that all roofs should no longer be covered with straw and that the walls should also be made of brick. As early as the 16th century, the citizens were obliged to keep leather buckets and hook ladders ready to protect against fire .

Numerous fire and fire disasters were also reported from Cottbus and the official villages in the 18th century. In 1717 16 farms burned down in Ostrow just outside the city gates . The tower of the upper church was struck by lightning in 1766 and was badly damaged by the fire that followed. In 1796, 70 farms burned down in Ströbitz . In the police deletion regulations for Sandow from 1858 it was stated, among other things:

“In every inhabited house the owner has to keep: a fire bucket, a poker 12 to 16 feet long, 2 fire escapes, one of which must reach the roof and the other to the top of the roof of his tallest building, a fire extinguisher (wooden handle with rag) and a lantern made of sheet metal and panes of glass with light. "

Negligence in the acquisition and maintenance of this equipment was reprimanded with fines of up to ten thalers. The life of the citizens in the city of Cottbus changed more and more at the end of the 18th century. Theatrical performances took place, excursion restaurants were opened, the first newspapers were printed and in 1811 the balloon flight of Carl Friedrich Claudius from Cottbus caused a sensation. Public life increased significantly and the risk of fire increased.

The establishment of the Cottbus fire brigade in 1863

"Rescue - Extinguish - Rescue - Protect" was and is the top priority of the fire brigade for over 150 years . In several major fires in Cottbus in the years 1861/1862, e.g. For example, on May 9, 1862 in the Valte cloth factory at Neustädter Platz 55, the authorities had to determine that the fire services in the city area were not sufficiently well established. A committee formed as a result to solve this problem intended to set up a professional fire brigade. Then the gymnastics club, founded in 1861, offered to form a fire brigade out of its members. The association obtained information from the then royal fire director of Berlin, Ludwig Carl Scabell, on how to set up an appropriate fire brigade. Thereafter, on October 20, 1862, the MPs decided to found a gymnast fire brigade , equipped with two syringes and the associated ancillary equipment . In October 1862, the city's magistrate approved around 500 thalers to procure the rest of the needs, after which the fire brigade bought ten hook ladders , twelve climbing harnesses, ten helmets, a life bag and an equipment cart.

The constituent assembly of all interested parties took place on February 16, 1863 in the hotel "Zum Goldenen Ring" on the Altmarkt (building of today's Chamber of Crafts). Here the 96 men elected the mechanical engineering manufacturer Moritz Nommel as fire warden, Rudolph Brincks as his deputy and Emil Böttcher as his adjutant. After just one year, 189 Cottbus men were named in the membership directory who belonged to the fire brigade. The basis for the training of the Cottbus firefighters were the books "Das Feuerlöschwesen Berlins" and "Instructions book and exercise regulations for the teams of the Berlin fire brigade" written by Fire Director Scabell.

Historical timetable of the volunteer fire brigade of the city of Cottbus from 1863 to 1933

During one of the first exercises the Cottbusers were able to experience their new fire brigade on February 23, 1863 on the parade ground behind the monastery church . Since there was no riser tower for the fire brigade , training was carried out with riser ladders with hooks (borrowed from the dye works owner Michaelis). When a few days later the signal “everyone is coming” sounded for the first time and the fire brigade was called (it was the great village fire of Ströbitz in July 1863) the firefighters found that their equipment was almost completely useless because the old syringes and fire buckets failed. In October 1864, financed by donations, the firefighters were given a syringe and a hose trolley made by the Metz company in Heidelberg. Uniform fire brigade uniforms could be purchased from donations. The fire extinguishing water was taken from the old city moat, which was expanded for this purpose. Other water intake points were the Landgraben and the Spree . The municipal authorities decided in May 1868, on repeated requests from the fire brigade, to start building a usable equipment shed with a riser tower (hose tower). This enabled the Cottbus fire brigade to take possession of its first riser tower at Neustädter Tor on September 12, 1868. The city cost around 1,700 thalers for the first fire station with a riser tower on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz. This gave the fire fighting group better prerequisites for solving their tasks.

In 1877 the Turner fire brigade Cottbus issued a call to found a fire brigade association in the province of Brandenburg . On the 3rd / 4th In July 1877 the “Association of Voluntary Fire Brigades of the Province of Brandenburg” was founded in Cottbus. In the middle or end of the 19th century, in the age of industrialization , the city developed into the center of the cloth and carpet industry. Cottbus became a railway junction that quickly and cheaply connected all important centers in Germany with Cottbus, and enabled the city's steady economic development.

In the course of industrial development, the population in Cottbus grew to 20,000 citizens around 1870. So were u. a. 1871/1872 the Schlossberg, the village of Ostrow, the Mühleninsel, the Markgrafenmühle and the three village settlements of the Brunschwig estate were incorporated into Cottbus. Stricter building regulations by the city's magistrate strengthened fire protection in 1873, which supported the city's growth. After 1870 the fire brigade received the urgently needed new technology, hose trolleys, feeder hose , an iron water tank (iron tub), a new equipment trolley with a rescue apparatus and a fire escape that can be angled on a house wall.

In July 1874, the deputy military leader Wilhelm Kurtzrock, as the Cottbus delegate of the German Fire Brigade Congress in Kassel, brought with him the suggestion to unite the fire departments of the entire province of Brandenburg. But only on 3rd / 4th June 1877 a basic law of the Association of Rescue and Fire Brigade Associations of the Province of Brandenburg was passed in Cottbus . At the head of the association was Moritz Nommel, who, along with other personalities, was responsible for the development of the various fire service matters (constitution, exercise regulations, formation of sub-associations, accident prevention regulations and the publication of a fire service magazine).

When it was founded, the fire brigade, founded in 1863 from the Cottbuser gymnastics club, dissolved. On March 29, 1878, the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade was constituted , which was now responsible for protecting the city against fires. As early as 1882 there were around 35 fire departments in the Provincial Fire Brigade Association. In June 1882, the volunteer fire brigade established itself with the statute on the fire extinguishing system of the city. In doing so, she only took on the obligation to fire extinguishers in Cottbus, and the Oberführer and his deputy assumed authority at the scene of the fire. The police took over the security service, they regulated the maintenance of order and security in the event of fire. The criminal service took over the investigation of the causes of the fire. It quickly became apparent that the establishment of a professional fire brigade was necessary, even if this was initially only viewed as an auxiliary team of the volunteer fire brigade.

The duty firefighters were assigned to all residents from 21 to 40 years of age who were not members of the volunteer fire department. Due to the high level of technology in the meantime, it was necessary to build another fire department depot. This was built in October 1884 according to the designs of Moritz Nommel at the Turnplatz (today's Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Straße) on the site of the municipal gym.

Two companies and two complete fire engines with around 300 firefighters were ready for action. The device inventory showed a significant expansion. The guard had a climbing trolley, an ambulance, five four-wheeled and one two-wheeled hand syringe, four water trolleys and four water trolleys, a two-wheeled leaning ladder , a mechanical extension ladder and four hose trolleys.

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary in June 1888, the corps doctor of the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade, Dr. Carl Thiem is ready to take in injured firefighters in his "private surgical clinic, waiving any medical fee for a mere, very moderate reimbursement of meals". This commitment by Dr. Carl Thiem also extended to external fire brigades and their comrades, as far as they were transportable.

Volunteer fire brigades have now formed in the surrounding villages and communities. On September 1, 1888, around 40 men met in Sandow to found the fire department. Master tanner Linde was elected Oberführer. In 1904 Sandow was incorporated and the fire brigade was incorporated into the Cottbus fire fighting formation as the 3rd department. Voluntary fire brigades were also founded in Saspow in 1896, in Schmellwitz in 1906, in Ströbitz in 1907, in Madlow in 1912 and in Sielow in 1913.

The close ties between the surrounding villages and the city developed under the Lord Mayors Dr. Karl Mayer and Paul Werner . During the term of office of Dr. Karl Mayer received the city in 1886 its district freedom . The city building authority was founded, a commercial school was set up, and an inspection station for food and luxury goods was set up. The infantry barracks were built in 1885 and the slaughterhouse was built in 1890 . During the term of office of Mayor Paul Werner 1897/1899 the central water supply and disposal was established. The textile school was converted into a Prussian higher technical school for the textile industry. The lung sanatorium in Kolkwitz opened in 1900, and in 1903 the first tram line went into operation. A modern power station was built, the Spreewaldbahn was founded, the theater was built and the hospital was opened in 1914. The city developed rapidly and expanded spatially. Reporting a fire was no longer that easy. In 1888, the Hoffmann company from Leipzig applied to the city authorities to install an electrical telecommunications system to notify the fire fighters. In 1890 a fire brigade accident insurance fund was set up in the province of Brandenburg , which paid out pensions and regulated support for surviving dependents. In 1898 the city of Cottbus received its first water pipe, which was also positive for fire fighting. With the expansion of the municipal water supply system, the establishment of hydrants for fire fighting was advanced.

Cottbus developed into an important center in Lower Lusatia in the last third of the late 19th century. By the beginning of the 20th century at the latest, the fire brigade also became more important. The fire brigade workforce could be kept constant during this time (1903). According to the new requirements, the local statute of the city of Cottbus for fire extinguishing was issued in 1908. After lengthy negotiations, the company Siemens & Halske was able to set up the electrical fire alarm system to notify the firefighters on November 9, 1908 and hand it over to the city administration. 27 fire alarms had been set up throughout the city , and 180 firefighters had alarm clocks in their apartments. The fire alarm center was located in a room in the city hall behind the city police station. The abolition of the previous compulsory fire brigade was also associated with modern technology in 1912.

The Cottbus fire brigade was only able to fulfill its tasks poorly during the First World War , on the one hand because of the desolate financial situation of the city and on the other hand, the call-up of many comrades to military service made work much more difficult. Of the 76 firefighters from Cottbus who took part in World War I, 7 had died on the fronts. This situation continued, the poor economic situation and inflation were critical for the continued existence of the municipal fire department. In a memorandum in February 1921, for example, it was stated that the lack of horse-drawn vehicles to transport the extinguishers could not be remedied despite appeals and personal requests to citizens who owned the horses. From October to December 1920, after the Reichswehr had withdrawn from Cottbus, the teams of the volunteer fire brigade , which had provided the teams up until then, were no longer able to bring the necessary extinguishing equipment to the scene of the fire. Thanks to extensive donations, a Magirus automotive syringe was obtained in 1922 . In the magistrate, it was decided to allow the municipal fireworks, a department that took over the fire watch after the fire brigade had left, to clear the scene of the fire. They also had to check compliance with fire protection regulations at theater performances and fairs.

In order to commemorate their comrades who died in World War I, the volunteer fire brigade had a memorial stone erected at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz (Neustädter-Platz) on July 7, 1923. In January 1924, a modern automotive turntable ladder from the Magirus company was handed over to the fire brigade from donations from Cottbus citizens . This became necessary after a tragic accident occurred on November 30, 1923. When the snow was slippery, the truck started to slide in the curve at the upper church. Three firefighters fell from the truck and the attached aerial ladder was completely destroyed. The fire fighter Gustav Deffke died in the accident. Deffkestrasse at the Sandower fire station was later dedicated to him. In 1925 the fire station Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz / Neustädter-Platz was rebuilt after it had received a second automobile injection. Under the leadership of Ewald Haase , the Cottbus fire department experienced a tremendous boom.

When the volunteer fire brigade took over the transport of the ambulance in February 1925, the ambulance service became a further task in addition to traditional fire fighting and technical assistance. Even before the First World War, the Cottbus fire brigade had its first ambulance, which was parked on the property of the "United Thiemsche Heilanstalt". A second ambulance was handed over to the fire brigade in April 1914.

Another ambulance was housed in their depot on Turnstrasse and was kept on standby at all times. The Cottbus medical officer Dr. Dobrik took over the training of the paramedics. In the right to issue instructions, they were subordinate to the chief fire chief Kurt Dubian. The fire brigade remained responsible for transporting the ambulance until 1943, when the Red Cross took over.

Regular training was necessary to ensure that the teams were operational. These included u. a. Marching exercises, gymnastics, ball games but also exercises with and on the technique and practice drives to roll out the hoses. After 1928, special training in the correct handling of the gas protection devices that had just been introduced was added. The responsibility for monitoring the devices was assigned to a fire chief. It became more and more difficult to accommodate the new technology, the depots were too small. The extension building planned for the depot at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz was discarded, the enlargement of the depot located in the old Turnstrasse failed because of the school administration, because the municipal gym should be demolished for it. A decision had to be made in favor of a new building and in 1928 a model of the new guard was presented to the MPs. With the acquisition of a Magirus fire extinguisher, which was handed over in February 1929 as a rescue vehicle of the type "Cottbus" (it was developed according to the ideas of the fire brigade comrades and built by Magirus) it became necessary to convert the depot at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz dare. The riser tower , which was built with great effort in 1868, had to be removed. This also affected the Sandower Depot (Westaue), where space had to be created to accommodate new vehicles.

In 1928, 79-year-old Ewald Haase transferred his office to Oberführer Otto Heger, who was responsible for the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade until 1932. From 1932/33 the optician Oberführer Otto Bergte held the office. In February 1929, the city's representatives decided to build a new fire station on a plot of land on the extended Turnstrasse (Ewald-Haase-Strasse).

The construction cost at that time was 280,000 Reichsmarks, the groundbreaking took place on October 1, 1929, and the foundation stone was laid in the same year. The until then largest fire brigade exercise in Cottbus took place on the occasion of the 31st Association Day from June 28 to June 30, 1930, in which up to 21 fire brigades from the Cottbus district took part on Schillerplatz.

Guard Turnstrasse

At the same time, the ceremonial handover of the new fire station in Turnstrasse, which was built in eight months, took place. The entire facility included the depot, the tower, the residential building with nine three-room apartments and a separate medical station. The 22 m high tower with a modern clock attached to the outside was used simultaneously as a riser tower and hose drying system. Up to 70 hoses could be hung in the tower after cleaning in the hose washing machine. The basement of the fire station had an 83 m² coal cellar, which could be filled from the courtyard and was calculated in such a way that only one coal supply was necessary annually. The boiler room with two steam boilers and the storage room were also located in the basement. In addition to the large vehicle hall, the telegraph room with the fire alarm and telephone exchange from the company H. Fuld & Co. AG in Frankfurt / M was located in the basement . , established by the Cottbus-based Niederlausitz telephone company. The command room, a changing room, a kitchen, the large conference room, a bedroom, toilets, washrooms as well as tubs and shower rooms were located on the upper floor. The medical station was housed in a small building on the edge of the courtyard. There was also space for the six ambulances in the yard. The medical staff were able to use four disinfection rooms for cleaning and disinfecting if they came into contact with contagious diseases. The wagon workshop and a washing facility with a large working pit and crane system were also located on the edge of the courtyard.

In June 1930, the city's magistrate settled the personnel issues of the volunteer fire brigade and the ambulance transport system. The following were permanently employed: as chief driver K. Dubian, who was responsible for managing the equipment, a fitter of the fire alarm system and two telephone operators. By 1930 the fire brigade was well equipped. The fire brigade's inventory included several automobile syringes, an automobile turntable ladder , a machine and rescue vehicle , a horse-drawn turntable ladder, an rescue vehicle and a team car, a trailer motorized syringe and an ambulance and rescue vehicle from the Horch company . Foam extinguishers and gas protection devices were also included. The team strength at that time was 150 men.

Establishment and tasks of the fire fighting police from 1933 to 1945

In Cottbus, too, there were structural changes in the volunteer fire department after the National Socialists came to power . A Prussian law on fire services passed in December 1933 removed the area of ​​responsibility of the fire brigades from the municipalities and placed them under the Prussian Ministry of the Interior. Thus, the local police in Cottbus was also responsible for the fire-fighting system, and the term “ fire-fighting police ” became established. To the firefighters check all the comrades had a certificate of the NSDAP - district headquarters to teach, otherwise they were removed from service. After the dissolution of the Brandenburg Provincial Fire Brigade Association in 1934, the Cottbus fire brigade was transformed into a corporation under public law . A new statute was approved by the district president , which completely transferred the ownership of the volunteer fire brigade to the new fire brigade. At the same time, the color scheme was changed from the traditional red to the traditional green used by the police. The volunteer fire brigade increased its personnel due to the air raid protection tasks, and in 1934 a new auxiliary station of the fire brigade was established in Berliner Straße / Schillerstraße. The Cottbus fire brigade's fleet of vehicles was expanded considerably, 17 new fire engines as well as an all-terrain vehicle and a corpse recovery vehicle were purchased. A gas mask test room has been set up in the main fire station. 140 gas masks with accessories, 6 oxygen protection devices , 2 CO devices , 2 pulse motors and an inhalation device were assigned to the fire brigade. Two more guards were set up in the south of the city, with a parade hall and a training room. The public fire alarms were expanded to 49 to improve the alarm network.

There were the most significant changes in terms of personnel:

• In 1933 the fire brigade still had 270 members,
• In 1938/39 there were only 170 members,
• In 1938/39, 180 firefighters were also conscripted. In addition to 44 sponsoring members, there were 23 musicians, 17 members of the minstrel and 13 full-time employees.

Otto Haeger was replaced by Albert Bergte in 1932, and from 1934 to 1945, district service leader Friedrich Luckner and, as his deputy, Otto Haeger, headed the Cottbus volunteer fire service. After 1940 Kurt Willenberg was the platoon leader in the Ewald-Haase-Strasse fire station, Wilhelm Schmalbruch in the fire station on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz and Kurt Dubian in the fire station on the Westaue. In addition to their actual fire-fighting and rescue work, the new fire brigade was mainly focused on training and education during this time. In preparation for the Second World War, air raid exercises began as early as 1934 , and at the same time the construction of air raid systems and fire extinguishing wells began.

There were also changes in the uniforms of the professional and voluntary fire brigades from 1936. The Reich and Prussian Ministry of the Interior issued a decree that uniformly a skirt blouse in a dark blue cloth and black cloth trousers with red piping were to be worn. In 1939 blue lights and sirens were introduced as signals for the fire brigade. The Reichskristallnacht was also a tragic day for the Cottbus fire brigade, they were not allowed to extinguish the synagogue, which was stormed by the Cottbus Nazi mob and set on fire, inaugurated in 1902 . All they had to do was make sure that the fire did not spread to the surrounding buildings. Something similar happened with private houses and factories, only neighboring buildings that were not owned by Jews had to be protected. In order to be able to use the fire brigade comrades who were not drafted into the Wehrmacht, a so-called "safety and rescue train" was set up. From 1936 to 1939 a fire brigade regiment was formed from the 350-man volunteer fire brigade. At the beginning of the war, the fire brigade was placed under the jurisdiction of the SS , which meant that removing it from the scene of the fire was considered desertion. A special instruction in the form of a quick letter to the Cottbus fire brigade said that if the air base fire brigade requested, the fire brigade with crew and equipment had to be present at the airfield immediately and to follow the instructions there.

Early 1940s

Main fire station 1930

At the beginning of the 1940s, the voluntary fire brigade of the city of Cottbus had three trains in the following locations:

• 1st train - fire station at Dresdener Straße 136,
• 2nd train - main fire station in Ewald-Haase-Straße,
• 3rd train - fire station in the Westaue,

In addition, the ambulance and Samaritan watch on Ewald-Haase-Straße, storage space for equipment in the old fire station on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz, also used as a high-capacity workshop. Other premises were in Schillerstrasse and Striesower Weg as well as in the windmill settlement at the racecourse.

In February 1941 the Samaritan work of the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade ended when the ambulance vehicles and the corpse recovery vehicle were handed over to the German Red Cross (DRK). As a result of the ongoing air raids on the Reich capital , the Cottbus fire-fighting police were also ordered to send teams and equipment to fight the fire. In the winter of 1942/43 the Cottbus comrades were deployed in northern Germany, for example in Flensburg , Kiel , Lübeck , Hamburg and Preetz . The Cottbus fire-fighting police and their air raid protection department were also deployed in May / June 1944 after air raids on the Schwarzheide synthesis plant . The bombing raid on February 15, 1945 presented the volunteer fire brigade with unsolvable tasks. When Allied bomber groups laid the train station and parts of the city in ruins at 11.30 a.m., the entire area had to be deployed because the surrounding residential areas, the hospital and the Luther Church were also affected. For the first time, the city's fire brigade needed greater help from the surrounding fire brigades. The Cottbus fire brigade, the Calauer , the Vetschauer , the Drebkauer and the Senftenberg fire brigade, came to the rescue. With the capture of the city by the Soviet Army on April 21, 1945 and the handover by the Lord Mayor Baron Baselli von Süßenberg on April 22, 1945, the Nazi rule in Cottbus ended.

The zero hour until the establishment of a professional fire brigade from 1945 to 1947

As early as April 23, 1945, the new mayor of the city, Max Döring , asked Kurt Dubian, the platoon leader of the fire station on the Westaue, to collect all the remaining firefighters and to put out the fires that were still there. Since almost all of the fire brigade regiment had withdrawn to western Germany with all the mobile technology, it was impossible to solve this task. The water supply network was out of order, there was no light, gas or telephone. The first comrades came together under the fire chief to rescue equipment that was still in existence in fire stations, burned-out factories and air raid protection points. Gas masks, steel helmets and a portable pump were recovered. With a handcart and the TS 8, the comrades went to extinguish the still smoking fires.

Under the direction of fire chief Dubian, a group of comrades from the volunteer fire brigade and the compulsory fire brigade formed anew on May 20, 1945 in order to rebuild the fire department in Cottbus. The occupation of the main fire station by suitable personnel was not possible, as the Soviet military was encamped there. Unfortunately, the existing inventory and technical equipment were destroyed by the Soviet military. The city fire brigade was housed on the upper floor of the medical station. Every firefighter was required to put the sign “fire alarm point” on his house. At the same time, the city administration obliged all transport vehicle owners to report to the fire station immediately in the event of an alarm, which usually only worked at night.

With order No. 2 of the SMA ( Soviet Military Administration ), all comrades charged with National Socialism had to be dismissed on August 31, 1945 despite their good reconstruction work. In November 1945 the Cottbus fire brigade was assigned a passenger car, two motorcycles and various equipment vehicles via the motor vehicle office. The mayor of the city Reinhold and the fire director Bergte were informed that the state fire brigade school was to be set up in Cottbus from December 1, 1947 and that it had to start teaching immediately.

Cottbus professional fire brigade since 1947

On the orders of the SMA, the Minister of the Interior of the State of Brandenburg carried out the preparatory work for the establishment of a professional fire brigade and the dissolution of the fire protection police in April 1948. April 15, 1947 can be seen as the foundation of the Cottbus professional fire brigade. Albert Bergte became the first head of the professional fire brigade. A professional firefighter working in shifts received a salary of 186 marks in the month of 1947. In order to bring back the fire engine , which belonged to the Cottbus fire police, which had been brought to Berlin for repairs in 1945, fire fighters took it from the western sector of Berlin in 1948. After repairs and new equipment in Luckenwalde, the fire truck was put back into service in Cottbus. All fire brigade material was declared public property on April 1, 1949. At the end of April 1949, the fire department handed over their property to the city. Due to the ordinance on fire protection in the countries of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany of August 28, 1949, the municipal fire brigade was again outsourced from municipal responsibility to the newly created VPKÄ (People's Police District Offices). This change led to the formation of the fire department in the VPKA Cottbus in 1950.

By the end of 1950, fire-fighting equipment, a tank fire engine , a modern turntable ladder with a wooden ladder pool and a Bedford truck as the towing vehicle for the newly rebuilt portable pump trailer were added. The incorporation of five surrounding villages (Ströbitz, Schmellwitz, Saspow, Sachsendorf and Madlow) also led to the takeover of the associated volunteer fire brigades. In 1951 the technical equipment was improved. The supply of fire trucks from domestic production was started. The wooden turntable ladder of the Cottbus professional fire brigade went to Forst to take over their Magirus turntable ladder. A medical ambulance (Sankra Robur Garant 30K ), a rescue transport equipment vehicle K30 (RTGW) TLF15 and a foam compound carrier H3A were added to the inventory for the fire brigade in the 1950s.

IFA LF 16 – TS 8 of the Schmellwitz volunteer fire brigade, built in 1959

As early as January 1956, the volunteer fire brigades were removed from the area of ​​responsibility of the People's Police. In Cottbus, the volunteer fire brigades were assigned to the Interior Department of the city administration. During this period, the volunteers and the professional fire brigade of the City of Cottbus were called to the following fire sites:

• In 1950, twelve barns and ten stables burned down in Striesow.
• In 1951, eight barns and nine stables burn in Dissenchen .
• 1952 the roofing felt factory Werner & Co. burned down in Cottbuser Peitzer Straße.
• 1958 Flood in the area of ​​the city of Cottbus

In 1967/1968 prisoners added the guard, which is under monument protection , to Ewald-Haase-Straße. This was done taking into account the historical preservation of the previous building. "Ilse colored bricks" were also used for the cladding of the building. With this extension it was possible to modernize the fire alarm and alarm center. By assigning a slewing crane in 1966, the professional fire brigade had better opportunities to work in disasters and accidents. Unfortunately, this emergency vehicle was moved to the capital for good just a year later. In the 1960s there were repeated inconsistencies in alerting between the volunteer fire brigade and the professional fire brigade. The lack of equipment with alarm technology played an important role here. The Ströbitzer fire brigade often went out in vain at night because the alarm sirens from the nearby airfield could be heard. The inadequate training of the volunteer fire brigades also proved to be a nuisance.

Only parts of the Cottbus fire brigade in 1970 could be equipped with modern radio alarm receivers, which is why detailed alarm files were created. A more precise coordination of the alerting by siren signal took place as well as the expansion of the network of public telephone booths . This made it possible to reach the fire brigade on the emergency number 112 . As a result of these measures, the public fire alarms could be switched off in 1978, the existing fire alarms in the factories continued to function.

One of the largest deployments of the city's fire brigades after 1945 was the fire fighting in a locomotive hall of the Reichsbahn repair shop on December 19, 1968. This fire caused damage of five million marks. All fire brigades in the city and twelve other fire brigades from the surrounding area were deployed. The cause of the fire disaster was the disregard of instructions for welding and cutting work, but also disregard of general fire protection regulations. The responsible specialist engineers bypassed the instructions of their superordinate specialist department and decided to allow welding work to be carried out on a large-capacity tank wagon with a 48 t benzene mixture . There was a flare-up that never went out. The fire could not be extinguished with several hand-held fire extinguishers, and the RAW volunteer fire brigade was alerted. The professional fire brigade was only alerted when the entire roof structure was caught in the fire. The burning of the benzene mixture created an extremely high fire intensity and the fire threatened to spread to the adjacent buildings. It was no longer possible to rescue the eight steam locomotives, five diesel locomotives and other wagons due to the power failure and falling parts of the ceiling. Only now did the Cottbus professional fire department alert. Other fire departments from Guben , Senftenberg , Schwarze Pump and ten other volunteer fire departments provided the Cottbus fire department with help. A crane operator was killed in the fire disaster, the property damage amounted to around 5,078 million marks.

With the first delivery of the new fire truck in 1972, there were also improvements through the introduction of new breathing protection technology . The oxygen circulatory devices used up until then were replaced by modern compressed air breathing apparatus. Again on April 4, 1974, the Cottbus professional fire brigade was challenged with all of their knowledge and skills to fight a major fire at the Cottbus energy supply. An apparatus house (equipment and apparatus for the production of town gas ) of the Cottbus energy supply was converted into a gymnasium without the approval of the state building supervision. During the renovation work, there were constant problems that later had a positive effect on the fire. Improper welding work resulted in a fire that the employees working on site were unable to put out independently, and the professional fire brigade had to be alerted. When the fire brigade arrived, the north wall and roof construction were on fire. The basement ceiling had collapsed and there was a risk that the fire could spread to neighboring buildings. Additional volunteers and company fire departments were requested.

The proximity of the military airfield also resulted in additional tasks for the professional fire brigade. Between 1960 and 1971 there were a total of twelve plane crashes in the Cottbus district. The worst airplane accident occurred on January 14, 1975. An airplane crashed into the second floor of a dormitory of the Cottbus textile combine and got stuck in the stairwell. The strong spread of the fire caused by leaking kerosene was visible from the basement to the 4th floor. The difficult fire fighting was over after about 80 minutes.

The last public fire alarms in the city of Cottbus were switched off in 1978, all operational fire alarm systems were excluded from this measure and continued to function. Between 1979/1980 the long-planned fire alarm and alarm center was built right in front of the old headquarters. During this expansion, a new control center was set up and the social wing was expanded. The installation of modern roller doors took place in the 1980s.

Since the 1970s, the professional fire brigade has been supplied with new fire engines, so that until 1983 two fire engines on IFA W50 , one fire engine on IFA S4000 , one fire engine on a Robur chassis and a towing and auxiliary vehicle could be used in the volunteer fire services . The professional fire brigade was again expanded by twelve comrades in 1982. This fellow came mostly from the works fire the power plant Jänschwalde . The special height rescue service for the Cottbus district, which was introduced in 1985/1990, had to be discontinued due to the deteriorating material supplies. There was no rescue operation during this period.

The political changes that took place in 1989/1990 also affected the fire brigade. With the decision of the Council of Ministers of the GDR in January 1990, the professional fire brigade and volunteer fire brigades limited themselves to “typical fire brigade operations”. Even though the organization of the fire brigade was “unlawful”, the fire service was carried out without any particular incident. The professional fire brigade was financially and organizationally managed by the police, the local volunteer fire brigades by the City of Cottbus, Internal Affairs Department. In order to achieve a transfer of the professional fire brigade from the police to the city of Cottbus, the new head of the professional fire brigade, fire director Bernd Brodowski, held talks within a working group. On January 1, 1991, the conditions for this were in place. The entire staff of the Cottbus professional fire brigade was terminated by the police on December 31, 1990, before new employment contracts could be entered into with the city of Cottbus on January 1, 1991 for the same group of people.

From this point on, the professional fire brigade and the voluntary fire brigades were part of the area of ​​responsibility of the City of Cottbus. You were first in Office 38 and later in Office 37 as a fire department in the city administration. With the restructuring, the professional fire brigade was reassigned the responsibilities of the rescue service of the city of Cottbus that had already existed before 1945. The chief physician of the emergency department at the Carl-Thiem-Klinikum Cottbus , CA OM Dr. Med. Sharply called through the city. A large part of the staff of the rapid medical aid and the DRK ambulance was officially taken over to Office 37 of the Cottbus city administration on May 1, 1991. At the same time, the city of Cottbus officially assigned tasks in the ambulance service and ambulance transport to Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe as an aid organization. In April 1991 a new 3rd guard department was set up in Ewald-Haase-Straße. The handover of the newly built integrated control center took place in November 1992.

In 1992/1993, new technology was assigned, such as a tank fire engine, an equipment vehicle, a hazardous goods and rescue vehicle of the type RW2. The comrades received new clothing and protective equipment. But the new vehicle-specific equipment for the volunteer fire brigades of the city of Cottbus also took place during this period. In November 1992, the Madlow Volunteer Fire Brigade was the first fire brigade to receive a new TSL 16/25 tank tender. With the district reform in 1994, communities from the area around Cottbus were incorporated. As in 1950, with this incorporation, the existing volunteer fire brigades were taken over into the Cottbus fire brigade. This affected places like Döbbrick , Maiberg , Sielow, Merzdorf , Dissenchen, Schliechow, Kahren , Willmersdorf and Branitz . This tripled the area of ​​responsibility of the Cottbus fire brigade. In 2003 the communities Kiekebusch, Gallinchen and Groß Gaglow were added.

Main fire and rescue station

In January 1995, the Cottbus city council decided to build a new main fire and rescue station in the Südeck industrial park, and in 1997 the foundation stone was laid. The new guard was put into operation on June 23, 1999 by the now jointly operated control center Cottbus and Spree Neisse. The modern control center extends over two floors and there are six dispatcher workstations on the ground floor. The construction costs including the electronic equipment amounted to around 5.5 million marks. On the first open day on July 10, 1999 around 10,000 visitors were able to see for themselves that Cottbus now has the most modern fire and rescue station in all federal states.

With the Elbe flood in summer 2002, both the Cottbus professional fire brigade and the volunteer fire brigades faced additional financial and personnel burdens. In addition to the fire brigade's emergency services, the THW was also deployed to protect cultural assets in the old town of Dresden .

In June 2007 the Cottbus professional fire brigade celebrated its 60th birthday with an “open day”. More than 8000 visitors took the opportunity to find out about the varied tasks of the professional fire brigade.

List of all 17 volunteer fire brigades in the city of Cottbus

Fire engine I

Branitz local fire department

There was a first fire brigade in Branitz as early as 1822 . A document from 1847 says that a “mobile syringe” and a selected “operating team” could be used in Branitz. As early as 1860 there was a water syringe on the estate of Prince Pückler, which was in the syringe house of the estate. According to the building documents, the syringe house in the center of the village has existed since 1910. A new building with a tower was built in 1922. Another new building was not erected until 2008, into which the renovated tower of the previous building from 1922 was integrated. Currently, 27 active members work in the Branitz volunteer fire brigade, who also look after the children's and youth fire brigade with 16 young people in the district. Your emergency vehicle is a VW LT 35 support vehicle. In January 2015 the TSF was replaced by a TLF 20/40 St on a MAN 13.290 with a Magirus body.

Dissenchen local fire department

The Dissenchen local fire brigade was founded as a volunteer fire brigade in February 1927, and the new syringe house with two garages was inaugurated in October of the same year. Between 1939/1941 the left part of the building with the apartment inside was completed. 64 comrades and 21 members of the youth fire brigade can be deployed. Your emergency vehicle is an Iveco fire engine.

Schlichow fire fighting group

The Schlichow fire fighting group is assigned to the Dissenchen volunteer fire department. The fire fighting group includes an Iveco fire engine from the Sandow volunteer fire brigade.

Local fire department Kahren

Kahren fire department

The establishment of a volunteer fire brigade for the local police district of Kahren took place in March 1934, Frauendorf was involved . Up to 1945 the fire brigade had 64 comrades. Around three years after the end of the war, 22 comrades re-established the fire brigade in Kahren. A hand pressure syringe, a couple of hoses and other simple extinguishing technology had to suffice. The bells of the Kahren church were used to alert the comrades in the event of an emergency. In September 1948, the fire brigade took over a fire engine from the Ströbitz district command. The drying tower for the fire brigade's hoses was completed in December 1960. Also in 1960, the post office was able to take over a motor vehicle and convert it to meet the needs of the fire brigade. A second IFA Robur Garant 30K vehicle , which was handed over to the NVA , was taken over in 1965. The repair and conversion of the vehicle according to the ideas of the comrades was done in-house and free of charge. In 1988, the comrades erected six cisterns (underground collecting tanks for drinking or industrial water) in the village, as mining caused difficulties with the extinguishing water supply.

After 1990 the military leader was no longer elected by the comrades, but by the council of the community. The village of Kahren was assigned to the city of Cottbus. New and used technology could be put into service in the form of a delivery vehicle. A youth fire brigade was founded in 1998 and in that year both groups took part in the city youth championships, where they took two first places in various disciplines. In 2002 the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade was restructured. Four fire fighting districts were formed into which these four fire engines were integrated. The current fire station was inaugurated in 2014 and is located next to the Kahren community center. It replaced a functional building from the 1950s (corner of Alter Cottbuser Weg / Am Park), which was recently in poor condition.

Local fire department Kiekebusch

The Kiekebusch volunteer fire brigade was founded in 1934 and currently has 27 members as well as a small youth fire brigade group with five young people. You have a multi-purpose vehicle with a portable pump trailer.

Fire fighting train II

Merzdorf local fire department

The Merzdorf volunteer fire brigade was founded on January 18, 1924. The fire station was built in 1937, expansion measures took place in 1991 and 2010. In March 1939, 35 comrades were registered in the compulsory fire brigade . During the war, the personnel and technical equipment decreased significantly. A new portable pump could not be made available until January 1946. The fire brigade was further equipped via the council of the Cottbus-Land district. At the end of the 1990s, a modern MB type fire engine was taken over.

Sandow local fire department

Fire and rescue station 2 - Cottbus professional fire department and Sandow local fire department

In Sandow (September 1, 1888) around 40 men met to prepare for the establishment of a volunteer fire brigade. It was founded on September 19, 1888. After Sandow was incorporated in 1904, the fire department was assigned to the Cottbus fire department as the 3rd department. With the takeover of the Sandower fire brigade by Chief Fire Officer Paprosch, it experienced an upswing. It was housed in the property of the Sandower oil mill in the Westaue, where its extinguishing technology, such as an emergency vehicle with a trailer, a portable motorized sprayer with a capacity of 600 liters, a horse-drawn mechanical ladder, as well as an emergency and personnel vehicle, were housed. With the seizure of power in 1933, the fire brigade in the "red" Sandow was dissolved and the Cottbus fire brigade was assigned as the technical department. The comrades who were still active were taken over by the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade. After the war, the Sandower fire brigade developed slowly until it was assigned to the Cottbus fire brigade. In 1978 the Sandow volunteer fire department was re-established from the Cottbus city center fire department. She was given a garage in the operating part of VEB Polstermöbel Cottbus in Merzdorfer Weg to accommodate her. Due to the increased demands on the fire brigade, the extinguishing technology was brought up to date, a fire fighting group vehicle of the type LF 16 / W50 was one of them. She celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Sandower volunteer fire brigade on home soil in Ewald-Haase-Straße. The political changes also brought many innovations for the Sandow volunteer fire department. In addition to changing her subordination, she was given a broader range of tasks. The main task was no longer just fire fighting, but also tasks in technical accident assistance, in the event of accidents and environmental pollution. Fire extinguishing technology has improved significantly over the years. The Sandow volunteer fire brigade has had a Mercedes-Benz emergency fire engine since 1998. About 23 young people also work in the youth fire brigade, 34 comrades are permanently involved in the emergency service.

Local fire department Saspow

The Saspow volunteer fire brigade was founded in 1896 and incorporated into Cottbus in 1950. The first syringe house was a small, low stone building with a round arched door and an attic to accommodate ladders and other technology. The current fire station was built in 1935/36. The fire brigade now has a modern MB 1120 tank tender.

Willmersdorf local fire department

Willmersdorf Fire Department

In 1926, 29 residents of Willmersdorf came together to fight all fires together in the future. There are no documents to be found about the first fire station. Until the 1960s there was a shelter for fire extinguishers, it was not until 1968 that the council of the municipality decided to build a new fire station. The construction of the fire station was carried out by the comrades themselves and was completed in 1969. The first fire truck, they received, 1993, which is in this case is a small fire truck of the type Barkas B 1000 negotiated. In 2006, the Willmersdorf local fire brigade took over a modern fire-fighting vehicle with the multi-purpose vehicle with a load-carrying trailer of the type FIAT.

Fire fighting train III

Local fire department Döbbrick

The founding time of the local fire brigade is unknown. The place Döbbrick was incorporated into Cottbus in 1994. Around 20 comrades are involved in the personnel deployment service. The local youth fire department is one of 14 youth fire departments of the Cottbus volunteer fire department. The construction work for a new fire station began in 1977 and was completed by the comrades in 1983. The local fire brigade has a portable pump vehicle of the type VW LT 45.

Schmellwitz local fire department

The Schmellwitz volunteer fire brigade was founded in September 1906. The first fire station was more of a massive tool shed with a tiled roof measuring 8 × 4 m. In 1908, the local master carpenter Schloddarick built a wooden riser tower on the west gable of the syringe house. In December 1992 work began on tearing down the old fire station, in 1993 the mayor of the city laid the foundation stone for a new fire station and in September 1994 it was handed over to the comrades of the local fire service. The local fire brigade currently has a rescue vehicle of the type MB1124, a rescue vehicle of the type MB1124 and a fire engine 4000 of the type S 4000.

Sielow local fire department

An exact founding date for the Sielow volunteer fire brigade is not known, only the year 1913. Organized fire fighting began in this year. Before that, fires were fought with neighborhood help with tear hooks, water buckets and fire slippers. In October 1935 the construction of a fire station started. The first fire engine was a Brennabor, which was only followed in 1967 and 1989 by a Robur fire engine with a hose transport trailer. With the incorporation of Sielow in 1994, the independence of the Sielow volunteer fire brigade ceased. The Sielow fire fighting train was created as a subordinate train of the Cottbus volunteer fire brigade. In September 2001 a new fire engine was handed over to the Sielow fire engine. Today's Sielow local fire department consists of 41 men and 6 women. The youth fire brigade has 10 members.

Ströbitz local fire department

Ströbitz fire department

The Ströbitz Volunteer Fire Brigade was founded in the summer of 1906, when Ströbitz was still an independent village. At the old school in Ströbitz there was the syringe house, which was also used as a prison. A clinker-style fire station with five gates with hose and riser tower was handed over in November 1913 at the former Hindenburgplatz. In 1931 the wagon hall was expanded with functional rooms for the crew and an apartment for the equipment manager. Due to the municipal reform on July 1, 1950, Ströbitz became a district of Cottbus and thus the fire brigade became part of the city. Today the focus is on supporting the professional fire brigade. Since June 1991 the Ströbitz volunteer fire brigade has had a youth fire brigade with around 10 members. The multi-purpose vehicle of the type Fiat stationed in the local fire brigade is primarily reserved for youth work. The local fire brigade also has an Iveco fire engine. At the same time, the Ströbitz local fire department has three vintage fire engines in its portfolio: a GAZ-69 (Russisches Automobilwerk Gorki) built in 1969, a Robur LO 1801 A, built in 1975, and a Barkas B 1000 KLF (small fire engine, built in 1984).

Fire fighting train IV

Gallinchen local fire department

The Gallinchen local fire brigade was founded in 1934, further historical developments have not been recorded, there are no chronicles or documents. It is proven that in 1952 the volunteer fire brigade was able to move back into its former domicile, the old forge. In 1963 the drying tower was built and in 1979 the comrades of the volunteer fire brigade moved into their new fire station with car hall, equipped with new technical and sanitary facilities. The local fire brigade has a Nissan Patrol ready-to-use vehicle and a MAN type fire fighting vehicle at their disposal.

Groß Gaglow local fire department

The Groß Gaglow local fire brigade was founded in June 1934. The fire station, which was only built in 1944/45, was in such a desolate condition that it had to be rebuilt and expanded in 1972. The tower and the pointed roof were removed so that the fire station has a new look. The volunteer fire brigade has a multi-purpose vehicle with a portable fire pump trailer of the type FIAT.

Local fire department Madlow

The Madlow Volunteer Fire Brigade celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012 and was founded on June 5, 1912. 17 Madlower citizens were initially part of the volunteer fire brigade. The first Oberführer was the wheelwright Friedrich Noack. The volunteer fire brigade began with a hand syringe and immediately joined the Brandenburg Provincial Fire Brigade Association. For the 15th anniversary of the foundation on June 19, 1927, the deputy mayor Carl Ketzmerick handed over a newly built fire station. A special feature is the fire brigade coat of arms donated by the Cottbus sculptor Bock in the middle of the first floor of the fire station. In 1927 the Madlower firefighters had the first motorized sprayer in the Cottbus district. In 1943, special fire engines were formed, which were used twice in Berlin and once in Sornau in 1944. In 1950 Madlow was incorporated. Comrade Heinz Wiesenberg headed the Madlow volunteer fire brigade from 1958 to 1983. Today the Madlow fire brigade consists of 25 emergency services and 5 young people. The volunteer fire brigade uses a type MB1120 fire truck as a fire engine.

Sachsendorf local fire department

Sachsendorf fire department

The Sachsendorf local fire brigade was founded in 1923, at the time it was already fully equipped. After the incorporation in 1950, the fire brigade was temporarily dissolved. By order of the authorities, the Sachsendorf volunteer fire brigade was reorganized in August 1964 with seven comrades. The first base with a portable pump trailer was in a back yard on Sachsendorfer Hauptstrasse. The ownership structure in Poznaner Strasse had still not been clarified, although the fire station building had existed for a long time. In 1964, the Sachsendorfer fire brigade took over a small fire engine from the then Madlow fire engine . In the current fire station, the tower and a garage could finally be made available to the fire engine in 1967 by relocating the workshop. The fire fighting train in Sachsendorf became a fixture in the fire fighting system of the city of Cottbus. The construction of a house in Sachsendorf after 1970 made it necessary for the fire brigade to have another fire engine, a personnel transport vehicle. The comrades were able to take over the second garage in 1974. The expansion of the offices in the fire station was carried out in-house until 1977. It was not until 1979, after years of struggle, that the fire brigade was awarded the entire fire station with the third garage. In the same year, the fire brigade took over their third fire engine. At that time, 40 comrades were ready for action. Little by little, the old vehicles were decommissioned, but after 1986 more new fire engines came to the fire department.

literature

• Gustav Ewald Factory for Fire Extinguishing Equipment Cústriuk.V. 1895 catalog
• Cottbus home calendar 1994
• Cottbus newspaper 1990
• Cottbuser Blätter special issue 2013 150 years of Cottbus fire brigade

Web links

Commons : Fire brigades in Cottbus  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ History of the Cottbus fire brigade: 1863 - 1933. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Fire Brigade List. Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
3. ↑ Gustav Deffke. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . November 24, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Locations of the fire stations and fire stations. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
5. ^ History of the Cottbus fire brigade: 1933 - 1945. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
6. ↑ Cottbus fire brigade. Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
7. ↑ The Cottbus fire brigade from 1945 to 1960. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 26, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
8. ↑ What do the different siren signs mean? Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
9. ↑ Plane crash on January 14th, 1975. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
10. ^ The Cottbus fire brigade from 1990 to 2001. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 26, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
11. ↑ 60th anniversary of the Cottbus professional fire brigade. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
12. ↑ Lausitzer Rundschau: New domicile for the Kahren fire brigade
13. ^ Chronicle of the Merzdorf Volunteer Fire Brigade. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
14. ↑ 1888 - Foundation of the Sandow fire department. Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
15. ↑ Cottbus-Sandow volunteer fire brigade - from 1945. Accessed on October 26, 2014 . 
16. ↑ Cottbus / Ströbitz volunteer fire department. Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
17. ↑ Groß Gaglow fire department. Retrieved October 26, 2014 . 
18. ↑ Old vehicle technology - fire trucks. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014 ; Retrieved October 26, 2014 .