Technical assistance

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Order of the operational area, especially in the case of technical assistance (traffic accident)
An example: traffic accident with leaking equipment

As technical assistance in are (TH or THL abbreviated) Germany "measures to prevent threats to life, health or property" means, "that arise from explosion, flood, accident or similar occurrence and are carried out with the appropriate use of funds." Technical assistance in this sense is provided in particular by the fire brigades and the THW and in practice includes all those operations that are not or not limited to the use of extinguishing agents or the provision of emergency medical assistance and in which units, machines or technical knowledge to be provided. The provision of electrical power already counts as technical assistance .

Areas of application

The main focus of fire brigades has shifted increasingly in the direction of technical assistance over the past decades. Examples for this category of use:

In Germany, fire brigade service regulations 1 and 3 ("Basic activities in fire fighting and rescue operations" and "Units in fire fighting and rescue operations") are the basis for technical assistance. For this purpose, the tactical unit moves out with a vehicle that has the appropriate technical load for the task. The special vehicles reserved for this area of ​​activity are the rescue vehicles (RW), the emergency fire extinguishing group vehicles (HLF) and the advance equipment vehicles .

But can also be more than a vehicle for depending on the situation use come. As a rule, a rescue train will then be deployed at the fire brigade or a technical train at the THW .

Historical development

Technical assistance after accidents

Creating a working opening for the door opening with a spreader

The technical assistance was originally not an original task of many fire brigades in Germany, but that of the THW. When the number of traffic accidents and the victims involved increased enormously due to the rapidly increasing number of newly registered vehicles from the 1950s and the still underdeveloped passive safety of automobiles, the task of "accident rescue" was assigned to the fire services almost everywhere in Central Europe.

Technical rescue was initially carried out in many places with mechanical rescue equipment, and for years also with cut-off machines . It was only with the spread of hydraulic rescue equipment that a gentle, precise, spark-free and low-noise rescue technology became possible. Under the heading of patient-friendly rescue , the careful and carefully coordinated release of trapped people received significant attention from the institutions and active helpers involved. The recovery of vehicles involved in an accident is sometimes carried out with the help of private recovery companies as administrative assistants .

Technical assistance in the event of severe weather

Removal of storm wood

The lack of rapid and widespread availability of personnel, for example from the horticultural and forestry offices or comparable institutions, made it necessary to transfer the necessary assistance measures to the fire brigades and other authorities and organizations with security tasks that result from trees that have fallen or threatened to fall due to the weather. This mainly includes securing the place of use, if necessary the illumination of the place of use, assessment of the threat situation and the corresponding removal or securing of the trees. In order to be able to do justice to this task, the public sector has equipped fire brigades and - in Germany - the federal government the THW with suitable material. These include power chainsaws in the medium performance classes . In addition, the pumping out of full cellars (apartments), underground garages and the like is part of the spectrum of technical assistance in the event of storms. For this purpose, for example, submersible pumps and turbo submersible pumps used.

Technical assistance in the event of a defense

The Civil Defense advanced with the start of the threat situation of the Cold War, particularly in the focus of public risk prevention and response. In many European countries institutions have been created that have been equipped with technical equipment for the best possible prevention and crisis intervention. The expected destruction, especially with the use of modern weapons - in particular atomic bombs - has made appropriate precautions appear as a compromise between necessary and financially or logistically feasible expenditure, but considerable material and personnel are still held for the corresponding purposes. Due to the monetary feasibility question, there is a stronger focus on more likely disaster events that are not conflict-related. In Germany, in addition to the fire brigades, the THW is of particular importance.

Use of the term in Austria

In Austria , the term technical assistance refers to the private law assistance provided by a fire brigade (e.g. the removal of an accident vehicle, tree cutting). For operations according to Danger police is spoken of as a technical operation .

See also

literature

  • Jochen Thorns: Die Roten Hefte, Heft 101 - The group leader in the aid effort . 1st edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-17-029697-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Supplement to fire brigade regulation 3 “Units in emergency service”, February 2008
  2. ↑ Tips and knowledge: Basics of technical assistance. Retrieved June 29, 2016 .