Wir überwinden Grenzen

The largest emergency exercise to date took place under realistic conditions at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg / Participation of emergency services, police, fire department and hospital staff

It's a situation that nobody wants to experience: a fire or other crisis situation in a maximum care hospital is a major challenge for everyone involved. In order to be prepared for an emergency, the largest emergency exercise to date took place on the grounds of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg on Saturday, April 13 under the coordination of the Office of Civil Protection of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg and the Office of Fire and Civil Protection (ABK). At 10 a.m., a fictitious fire alarm was triggered in the new building of the Center for Pediatrics. This marked the start of the exercise scenario, in which over 300 people were involved.

"When the fire alarm was activated in two patient rooms in the new Center for Pediatrics, the fire and rescue services were on site within minutes. At the same time, the hospital operations management team came together and took over their work - just like in an emergency," explains PD Dr. Thorsten Hammer, Head of the Disaster Control, Risk and Hazard Prevention Unit at the University Hospital. Together with the ABK, the fire department, the rescue services and the police, he and his team have been planning this emergency exercise for months - meticulously down to the last detail and in strict secrecy.

Evacuation necessary

It quickly became clear to the fire department officers who arrived first: two rooms were on fire, there were a number of children, some of whom were seriously burnt and poisoned by smoke gas, and a large number of people who had to be evacuated from the building as quickly as possible. "A situation that you don't want to experience and that requires the utmost concentration," says Friedrich Koch from the Office for Fire and Disaster Protection. "The fire department had to evacuate around 50 children and several other drama patients through completely smoke-filled corridors, and loud fire noises could also be heard." The scenario was professionally prepared: The children, almost all of them staff members, aged between five and 14, were prepared for the events in advance and were made up by make-up artists on the day of the exercise: with deceptively real burn injuries of varying degrees of severity.

After the evacuation, the injured were handed over hand in hand to the rescue vehicles from the German Red Cross (DRK) and Malteser International and taken to the practice emergency room at the University Emergency Center. During this large-scale exercise, the lower disaster control authority of the city of Freiburg, represented by the head of the department, took over overall command of the operation for the first time on the basis of an "extraordinary emergency situation" in accordance with the state disaster control law. Under realistic conditions, all those involved were able to practice working together in the event of an emergency. For example, a collection point was set up for relatives and the press and the entire logistics were coordinated together with the technical operations management of the fire and rescue services.

No one knew in advance what would happen, but had to react spontaneously to the circumstances on site. 50 experts from the fire department, rescue service, police, German Armed Forces, THW and the university hospital observed the exercise in order to make suggestions for further development.

Practicing cooperation, gaining insights

The exercise officially ended at 12 noon. "It was a unique opportunity to use the new Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, which has not yet been occupied, for the largest emergency exercise at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg to date," says Professor Dr. Frederik Wenz, Chief Medical Officer of the University Medical Center. "Everything was meticulously planned, the situation was absolutely realistic and the collaboration worked very well. I would like to thank everyone involved." Even though the planning team's faces were beaded with sweat after the exercise was completed, they were pleased that the work of the last few months had paid off. "We have gained many valuable insights, which we will now evaluate together with everyone involved. This exercise was important in order to really be optimally prepared for such a fire," says Hammer.

"The Center for Pediatrics will soon be caring for people who need our special protection in an emergency. In order to safeguard complex infrastructure, we need to practice regularly and together," says Lord Mayor Martin Horn. "It's good to know that we can rely on our emergency services and our partners at all times."

"Today's exercise has shown how important it is for all rescue and aid organizations to work together professionally in order to be able to quickly resolve situations like the one simulated at the Uniklinik. I would therefore like to express my special thanks to all those responsible who were on site," said Stefan Breiter, Head of the Fire Department.

Long planning in advance

Months of preparation were necessary to ensure that the largest emergency exercise to date on the grounds of the university hospital was as realistic as possible. There were over 60 appointments and around 40 inspections with all interfaces from the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, the ABK, the fire department, the rescue service, the Freiburg Chief Emergency Physician and the police. A separate role was defined for each child actor, including an individual injury pattern and an underlying illness. The children were invited in advance to familiarize themselves with the fire department's breathing masks and the stretcher of an ambulance. They were also given a tour of the new Center for Pediatrics. Hand-outs with specific information were created for all groups, such as trainers, paramedics and drone pilots.

The following were involved: 80 firefighters, 50 employees from the emergency services, the Freiburg chief emergency physician, two emergency physicians, ten police officers, 20 employees (nursing care staff and physicians) from the Center for Pediatrics, 50 acting children, 30 mime protectors, 20 spectators, eight make-up artists, 50 observers and 35 guests of honour.

Caption 1: Deceptively real scenario: A physician accompanies a young drama patient during the evacuation from the new Center for Pediatrics

Caption 2: A collection point was set up in the foyer of the new Center for Pediatrics for anyone injured or poisoned by smoke gas

Caption 3: The corridors were completely filled with smoke for the exercise: A firefighter carries an acting child out of the Center for Pediatrics

Image rights: Patrick Seeger/City of Freiburg