About the future of Thuringia's control centers

In the run-up to the state-wide steering committee for the control center structure reform, in which all Thuringian local authorities are represented, the East Thuringia control center network met again. This time, representatives from the districts of Greiz, Altenburger Land, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, Saale-Orla, Saale-Holzland, the cities of Gera and Jena as well as the East Thuringia Rescue Service Association met at the base of the Hermsdorf Volunteer Fire Brigade. The main aim of the meeting was to discuss the further implementation of the state project and the future demands and challenges facing the Thuringian control centers. Gera's Mayor Kurt Dannenberg (CDU), Jena's Head of Finance and Security Benjamin Koppe (CDU), Uwe Melzer (CDU), District Administrator of Altenburger Land, Thomas Fügmann (CDU), District Administrator of Saale-Orla-Kreis, Marko Wolfram (SPD), District Administrator of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, and Andreas Heller (CDU), District Administrator of Saale-Holzland-Kreis, used the working meeting for a lively exchange of experiences and to prepare for the steering committee, which will meet on Tuesday, 14 November 2023, in Gotha. November 2023, in Gotha.

The East Thuringia control center network is known to be a pioneer in the state-wide control center structure reform, which aims to create a more efficient and redundant control center landscape in Thuringia. Accordingly, the participants at the working meeting continued to press for the consistent implementation of this. Jena's head of security, Benjamin Koppe, emphasized: "The structural reform stands for optimized civil protection, leaner structures, efficient deployment of control centre personnel and technology as well as redundancy between the control centres. Full redundancy of the rescue control centers requires uniform control center technology, which is to be established as part of the state project. To this end, solutions were sought jointly with the state and all regional authorities. We must not lose sight of the timely and future-oriented implementation of the project," said Koppe. The Mayor of Gera and Head of Finance, Security and Citizen Services, Kurt Dannenberg, believes that the Free State of Thuringia has a duty to ensure the safety of all citizens in the future: "The rescue control centers are a decisive factor for the safety of the population. For this reason, we must continue to pursue the state project. We will continue to support the Free State of Thuringia as the East Thuringia control center network in this extensive overall project in the best possible way."

With this ambitious project, both Kurt Dannenberg and Benjamin Koppe are pushing for secure funding for the project and open communication in order to capture the dwindling planning security. There is also a long-term risk that interim investments will be necessary, which will have to be covered by the cities and districts, explains the Mayor of Gera and, together with department head Benjamin Koppe, adds: "The state must not allow the funding guidelines to expire in January 2024 and not seek to revise them in good time. The subsidies for necessary investments in the control centers through the Thuringian funding must be continued at all costs, because the safety of the people must have the highest priority and can only be fully ensured in this way," said both local politicians. To this end, it is essential that the state submits funding applications as quickly as possible and that these are approved.

The East Thuringia control center network is a successful model. The two regional control centers currently coordinate the ground-based rescue service as well as fire and assistance operations in the five districts of Eastern Thuringia and the cities of Jena and Gera for more than 700,000 citizens with the highest safety standards and in close coordination with each other. The inter-municipal cooperation with its regular working meetings is therefore a key component of the East Thuringian security architecture.