Major deployment of the Jena fire departments

Deflagration at a company in Jena

At 08:20 on Monday, 04.05.2020, an explosion was reported to the Jena Central Control Center at a melting plant at a company for special materials in the Maua industrial estate. According to the caller, white smoke was coming from the melting plant. The fire engine and the ambulance from the Jena fire department were then alerted. The city of Jena's hazardous materials unitwas later called out.

Benjamin Koppe, Head of Safety of the City of Jena, on the operation:

This accident has shown how important it is to have a well-equipped fire department and to adhere to safety concepts. I would like to thank the members of the professional fire department and the volunteer fire departments of Mitte, Winzerla and Göschwitz. The cooperation between the individual special forces was excellent. In the city of Jena with its highly specialized economy, the fire department will also have to continually face new challenges. We believe we are well prepared for this.

The emergency plan was triggered at the company and the affected area was cordoned off. The company's employees had gathered at the assembly point and all remained unharmed.

Wearing chemical protection suits, the firefighters were able to inspect the scene of the accident. Thanks to the immediate operational measures, the hazardous substances had not penetrated any further into the adjacent rooms.Measurements showed that a hazard outside could be ruled out.

Special forces in action

A decontamination line was set up by the Mitte volunteer fire department in order to clean the chemical protection suits of the deployed personnel.

Following a substance search by the Göschwitz volunteer fire department, contact was made with the chemical industry's transport and information system (TUIS) and the further procedure was coordinated. Due to the high health risk posed by the mixture of substances, the incident command then decided to seal the room dust-tight and have it cleaned by a specialist company.TheWinzerla volunteer fire department took over the respiratory protection monitoring for the emergency services.

Two members of the professional fire department were presented to a doctor as a precautionary measure. The operation with a total of 19 vehicles was completed at 11:15 am.