Rescue missions: Significantly more missions for volunteer fire departments in Berlin
The volunteer fire brigades in Berlin are doing more and more work. Last year, the volunteers responded to almost 16,700 cases, as can be seen from the Senate’s response to a request from the Green parliamentary group in the House of Representatives, which was initially reported by the RBB. According to the information, there were around 15,900 missions for the volunteer fire brigades in 2024, compared to just under 14,900 the year before.
In the current year, the volunteers went out 6,617 times (record date unknown), according to the Senate. Since 2024, the volunteer fire brigades have carried out a total of around 39,200 missions. According to statistics, they have been in use for a total of around 126,707 hours in the past two years, which corresponds to around 4,369 hours per month.
The burden of the Fire department There has been a general increase in Berlin: a total of around 558,000 missions were registered last year – that was 26,136 or almost 5 percent more than in 2024. And it was the highest figure since the Berlin professional fire department was founded in 1851. The volunteer emergency services support the full-time employees, especially in major damage situations, storms and in the rescue service.
Volunteering is essential, especially on the outskirts of town
According to the figures, a total of around 15,500 cases have involved technical assistance since 2024, and almost 14,040 cases involved fires. The emergency services were called out more than 9,650 times.
«The volunteer fire department makes an indispensable contribution to the safety of Berliners. “Especially in the outskirts of the city, firefighting and technical assistance depend largely on the operational capability of the volunteer fire brigades,” explained Green MP Vasili Franco.
Most missions in Staaken
According to statistics, the volunteer fire department in Staaken in the Spandau district has had the most operations since 2024 (1,948). There are also high numbers of operations at the weirs in Rudow (1,601), Niederschönhausen (1,410) as well as Lichtenrade (1,380) and Hellersdorf (1,325). With 1,777 missions, the volunteers in Berlin-Mitte were also often challenged.
There are currently around 1,700 women and men in Berlin’s 57 volunteer fire departments. There are also around 1,400 members in the youth fire brigades, who are intended to secure young talent for future missions. Almost 6,000 people, firefighters and other employees work in the professional fire department.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:260705-930-336606/1