With more than 1,300 exhibitors from 52 countries, the world's leading trade fair for firefighting, rescue, civil protection and safety, INTERSCHUTZ, started today in Hannover. A central topic is vegetation firefighting - currently highly explosive, especially because of the current disaster situation in Brandenburg and the forest fires in other regions.

On the sidelines of the INTERSCHUTZ opening, Dr. Ulrich Cimolino, head of the forest fire working group of the German Fire Brigades Association (DFV) and vegetation fire expert of the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb), pointed out that the lack of suitable equipment for fighting forest fires is now becoming apparent. This applies, he said, to the need for all-terrain vehicles for fighting forest fires, as well as for suitable personal protective equipment and useful, specialized tools.

In addition, there is the need for training in tactics and technology. In fighting the current fires, for example, it was apparent that there were not enough helicopter resources. This becomes even more obvious when other events - such as the current preparations for the G7 summit in Bavaria - mean that obviously the federal police cannot support the states with helicopters in sufficient numbers.

Cimolino pointed out that during INTERSCHUTZ, the full range of options for vehicles and equipment would be on display, as well as much on tactics and training. He said the show is an excellent showcase for current technologies and innovations. He said it was clear that there was no lack of knowledge, ideas and solutions, but rather a lack of implementation.

Stronger international cooperation is also important in this regard, he said. "Forest fires know no national borders," Cimolino said. INTERSCHUTZ offers an excellent contribution to supporting international networking, he added. Exhibitors such as Rosenbauer and Desautel, as well as the German Armed Forces Fire Service, will showcase the latest vehicles and concepts for fighting forest fires at the fair.

The disaster in Brandenburg and the further fires in numerous other regions are a clear overall indication of the explosive development in vegetation fires, he said. "As is now evident, vegetation fires can quickly develop into dynamic large-scale damage situations when drought is severe and the resistance of vegetation to this and other damage (e.g., storms, bark beetles) is low, causing the predominant vegetation to ignite easily and burn quickly," the expert said. As examples Cimolino mentioned for Germany above all the conifers, but also birches.

At the same time, he pointed to a new forecast for Germany up to the year 2028 disseminated a few days ago by the German Weather Service. According to this, an average temperature of up to one degree higher than before is expected regionally. "This sounds quite little, but it increases the explosiveness of the vegetation fire situation very significantly, because it is impossible for vegetation or even silviculture in hazard prevention to fully adjust in time for this," Cimolino said.

Cimolino will be giving presentations at INTERSCHUTZ on the topic of forest firefighting, as well as other weather extremes such as heavy rain and flooding, and will be available to answer questions at the joint vfdb and AGBF booth in Hall 13 .