Rescue workers in action: Large exercise in Eschwege inspires everyone involved!

Rescue workers in action: Large exercise in Eschwege inspires everyone involved!

On April 26, 2025, a large -scale exercise of various rescue organizations took place at the Stauffenbühl airfield in Eschwege. Around 150 emergency services, including members of the Technical Relief Agency (THW), the German Red Cross (DRK), the German Life Rescue Society (DLRG) and firefighters from Langenhain and Oetmannshausen, took part in the cooperation exercise. Particularly noteworthy is the involvement of the Rescue Dog Season Werra-Meißner and the Hersfeld-Rotenburg drone relay, all of which together wanted to demonstrate their ability to cooperate and effectiveness in an emergency.

The exercise had several scenarios, including a simulated aircraft crash in which more than ten people were injured, and a power failure in a care facility in Schwebda. A total of 16 "missing" people were hidden who had to be found. With the use of around 30 rescue dogs, DLRG diving and drones, a comprehensive search and rescue was carried out. After 7.5 hours of practice, it was reported that all missing people were found and successfully cared for. The THW Eschwege coordinates the exercise and plans a debriefing with the cables of the organizations involved in order to analyze the process and the results of the exercise.

positive feedback and uniform approach

The exercise in Eschwege took place under optimal conditions, without unforeseen events. This is contrasting to another major exercise, which recently took place at Taubenberg in Osterwarngau, in which ten rescue dog teams and around 60 helpers were active. In cool and rainy weather, the teams worked in a hard -to -reach forest area that was divided into search areas. Equipped with GPS and radio devices, the search was carried out, with the Border Collie Iron found a missing person in just 45 minutes. The recovery of the person then took over the volunteers of the mountain rescue service.

These exercises are part of a continuous effort to improve the skills of the rescue workers and to ensure a coordinated approach in an emergency. The positive feedback from the exercises shows that the emergency services are well prepared for the challenges.

Future view

In addition to the exercises in Eschwege and Osterwarngau, there was also an important exercise on the Hochrhein in Switzerland, in which almost 200 helpers from THW, DRK and other organizations took part. This exercise contained various emergency scenarios, including storm and heavy rain, and presented the emergency services with great challenges. The excellent cooperation between the various organizations, which had started preparing the exercise weeks earlier, is a positive sign of future missions.

In order to further increase efficiency in disaster cases, such exercises are not only essential, but are also regularly planned to constantly expand and consolidate the knowledge and skills of the emergency services. In this sense, the development of uniform procedures and effective communication strategies remains a central concern of the organizations involved.