Forest Fire Contingency Successfully Executed in Spain's NRW Forest - GFFF-V DE1 Operation Concluded
German Wildfire Unit Contributes to Containing Forest Fires in Spain
The German Forest Fire Service's unit, GFFF-V DE1, recently returned to North Rhine-Westphalia after a two-week deployment in Spain, where they played a significant role in containing large-scale forest fires in the regions of Extremadura and Castile and León.
The deployment was in response to a request from Spanish authorities, with the unit based in Bonn. David Bormann serves as the press contact for the unit. The GFFF-V DE1 is a standardized firefighting formation across all EU member states in the European disaster management procedure.
The unit, consisting of firefighters from Bonn, Düsseldorf, Leverkusen, Königswinter, and Ratingen, is structured into four components: Command, Firefighting Vehicles, Logistics, and Catering. The firefighting vehicle component comprises six high-clearance tanker trucks and two firefighting vehicles for disaster protection. The logistics component always includes an ambulance for medical care and a workshop vehicle with automotive specialists to repair technical defects on-site.
Upon their arrival, the unit set up their base in the municipality of Aldeanueva del Camino (Extremadura) and began initial firefighting measures on August 20. After the fire in Extremadura was largely brought under control, the unit moved to Puebla de Sanabria in the province of Castile and León.
The unit worked in grueling manual labor and under challenging terrain conditions to detect hotspots, establish control lines, and extinguish fires. Frank Frenser, Media Officer in the on-site team leadership, stated that the unit's work was performed under challenging conditions.
The unit's efforts were particularly challenged in the areas of the municipalities of La Baña and San Ciprián, where a large-scale forest fire was spreading in hilly terrain. Despite flame lengths of over 10 meters and high fire intensity due to wind and hilly terrain, the fire was prevented from spreading further.
Through a combination of ground and air support, further spread of the fire in the Extremadura region was prevented. The unit's experiences will be integrated into concepts and structures for forest fire management in Germany upon their return.
Upon returning to Germany, the unit's members were greeted with overwhelming gratitude from the Spanish population. They were accompanied by applauding people along the streets as they made their way back home. The name of the leader of the fire brigade team from Bonn deployed in Spain is Andreas Kalkuhl.
The NRW Forest Fire Unit is the first German, certified unit registered with the European Union (EU) under the name GFFF-V DE1. Upon their return, the unit's experiences will be integrated into concepts and structures for forest fire management in Germany.
