Fire Department

  Peter Winandy

The RWTH Aachen Fire Department currently has 18 members, who are primarily employed in various areas of the university. Numerous specific fields of work are represented from chemists to handworkers to IT specialists, also creating a broad pallet of expert skills. The firemen's work places are distributed over the whole campus.

 

Decentralized Use for Maximum Safety

The decentralized distribution of firemen across various campus areas is advantageous for example, when actual deployment is necessary. Most of the time one member of the fire department can meet the city fire department and help them with his particular knowledge of the location and of current and specific dangers within the building in question.

Members of the fire department come directly from their work place or from their free time to minimize disturbances within RWTH Aachen and to protect the people at the university.

First Aid

The fire department helps before external forces arrive, for example in fighting initial fires, evacuating buildings, or caring for people.

Storms, Hazardous Materials, and Other Areas of Deployment

The group also provides assistance in clearing areas after storms, providing technical support, or handling hazardous materials. This is either done with the city fire department or independently.

Events

The fire department also ensures safety during large events at RWTH Aachen by keeping an eye on fire safety.

  Peter Winandy

Training

The members of the fire department are trained similar to the members of the volunteer fire department. Training is oriented towards the fire service regulations for North Rhine-Westphalia. The majority of firefighters are trained to wear respirators. This enables the group to support the city fire department, who arrives first at the location. Members of the fire department support city fire department forces with their particular knowledge about the dangers and conditions of university spaces.

Regular Further Education

Regular training and life long learning are vital components of deployability. In order to maintain their training status at a high level, the men annually go through a two day training and an additional further training day with the Aachen Fire Service, the socalled "Hot Training". Here they practice emergencies in a building with smoke, real flames, and heat. Additionally, they train for specific dangers and methods of approach in a flash over container at temperature of up to 700 degrees Celsius. This involved practicing recognizing and fighting a threatening flash over or backdraft.