Almost 180,000 deployments for Dresden's fire department and rescuers

Fire and rescue services in the Saxon state capital were called out on a total of 179,681 missions in 2024. With 10,479 deployments alone, the fire department remained at a record level, while the number of rescue services increased by 2.9 percent to 169,202 deployments. While the volume at the Integrated Regional Control Center (IRLS) fell slightly to 200,939 emergency calls from the city on the Elbe and the districts of Meißen and Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, the number of call-outs rose to 296,799 - around three per cent more than in the previous year.

Biggest challenge: bridge collapse

In a total of 300 cases, firefighters rescued 119 people from burning or smoke-filled homes. The fire department, rescue services and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief were also in demand for several major incidents such as days of extinguishing work in an old malthouse or an abandoned villa, an irritant gas attack in a school or a lightning strike on the banks of the Elbe. The biggest challenge was the collapse of the Carola Bridge on 11 September, which the fire department organized and coordinated - with a positive outcome "despite all the drama".

Fake alarms and attacks on emergency services

A good third of the 10,479 fire department operations turned out to be false alarms. Of these, 1,135 were triggered by automatic fire alarms and 62 times the rescuers were alerted maliciously. Obstruction, insults and attacks on firefighters and rescue workers are "unfortunately now part of everyday life". According to the press release, 244 attacks on paramedics and two on firefighters have been documented. 57 colleagues were injured, some seriously. One patient hit one of the helpers in the face with his fist and fell to the ground unconscious. In another case, a patient kicked a paramedic in the ambulance in the hand - the colleague had to undergo surgery.