On the evening of June 6, 2024, the Mainz Fire Department received a report of a basement fire in an apartment building in Gonsenheim. At around 9:30 p.m., the dispatch center alerted fire engines from both stations of the professional fire department and the Gonsenheim Volunteer Fire Department, with a total of 35 firefighters, to the scene. At that time, the fire department personnel still had to assume that lives were in danger. Once on site, the fire in a clothes dryer in the basement was quickly brought under control. The fire caused smoke to fill the stairwell, so the fire department had to evacuate all residents to the outdoors. Since a large number of people were affected, the Health Section Command and a Rapid Response Team were alerted to assess and assist the residents. Fortunately, none of the 31 residents were injured. After extensive ventilation measures by the fire department, all residents were able to spend the night in their apartments. The volunteer fire department remained on standby for further calls in the city and manned the empty main fire station in Bretzenheim. The fire department was supported in the operation by Mainzer Netze, the police, and the property managers. Further investigations into the cause of the fire are being conducted by the criminal investigation department.

An injured drake, now affectionately named "Rüdiger," surprised the crew of the Mainz Professional Fire Department on Thursday evening when he waddled onto the grounds of Fire Station 1 in Mainz-Bretzenheim on his own, apparently in search of help.

Around 9:50 p.m., the firefighters noticed the unusual visitor, who was walking slowly straight into the vehicle bay. It was as if he knew exactly that he would be helped here. He showed no sign of trying to flee, so it was clear: the little drake urgently needed medical care.

The firefighters on duty secured the duckling, named him “Rüdiger,” and took him to a veterinarian, who is now treating him.

The further course of Rüdiger’s recovery is still unclear at this time, but the firefighters are hoping for a full recovery for their little patient.

Early Friday morning, a fire broke out on the ground floor of a high-rise building in Mainz’s Oberstadt neighborhood. Due to the heavy smoke inside the building and the large number of residents, 110 emergency responders were deployed. Eleven people were injured.

Around 1:15 a.m., several callers reported a fire with heavy smoke to emergency services in a high-rise building on Hechtsheimer Straße. There were also reports of cries for help. In addition to emergency medical services, both fire engines from the professional fire department as well as the Finthen and Weisenau volunteer fire departments were alerted.

Even while en route, the fire department dispatch center was able to determine from additional emergency calls that a fire was apparently burning in a pizzeria on the ground floor and that the entire ground floor was filled with smoke. This was confirmed upon the arrival of the first responders. Thick smoke was pouring out of several entrances, and the pizzeria was completely engulfed in flames. Several teams wearing breathing apparatus searched the ground floor while additional personnel fought the fire.

About 20 people fled through the thick smoke, and some had to be guided outside by the fire department. An on-site examination revealed that eleven of them had suffered smoke inhalation. Two of them were so severely affected that they had to be transported to the hospital. In addition, approximately 120 residents who had escaped to safety by other means required assistance.

To assist and care for the large number of people, disaster response teams were also deployed, each with a rapid response group for patient care and medical services. The Health Sector Command, led by an organizational director and a senior emergency physician, coordinated the rescue personnel from all aid organizations (ASB, DRK, Johanniter, Malteser).

The fire department had to deploy a total of 14 crews wearing breathing apparatus to inspect all affected areas and carry out firefighting operations. To this end, the volunteer fire departments from Bretzenheim and Hechtsheim were called in as reinforcements. The incident command was also supported by the ICT group of the Mainz Volunteer Fire Department. Mayor Nino Haase also visited the scene to assess the situation. The fire department had 16 vehicles and 65 personnel on site. Emergency medical services and disaster response teams were deployed with 20 vehicles and 45 personnel.

Thanks to the swift and exceptionally effective cooperation of all fire departments, emergency medical services, disaster response units, and the police, there were no serious injuries. The spread of fire and smoke to other parts of the building was also prevented, ensuring that all apartments remain habitable. Starting at 4 a.m., the first residents were able to return to their apartments.

The fire department reiterates that attempting to escape through smoke-filled areas such as stairwells or hallways is life-threatening. In the event of a fire, alternative escape routes should be used, or individuals should remain in a smoke-free apartment and make themselves known by the window or by calling the emergency number 112. Even a few breaths of smoke can be fatal. Additionally, one quickly loses one’s bearings.

During the operation, the vacant Station 1 of the professional fire department was staffed by the volunteer fire departments of Bretzenheim and Marienborn. The criminal investigation department has launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. The fire department cannot provide any information on this matter or on the extent of the damage.

On Tuesday at around 1:45 p.m., a traffic accident occurred on Rheinhessenstraße in Mainz-Hechtsheim near the intersection with Heuerstraße. A woman was struck by a truck and became trapped under the tractor unit.

When the first responders arrived, the victim was being cared for and attended to in an exemplary manner by first responders. Fortunately, the seriously injured person was quickly freed using small technical equipment through the joint efforts of the Hechtsheim Volunteer Fire Department and the professional fire department and handed over to the emergency medical services already on the scene. The driver and a school group that happened to be passing by were in shock and were attended to by the emergency responders. The children were escorted back to school by the teachers present and were able to be picked up by their parents there. The driver was also examined by the emergency medical services. He was uninjured.

Subsequently, the scene was handed over to the police. They have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident and the extent of the damage and have called in an accident investigator.

The Mainz Professional Fire Department responded with personnel from Fire Stations 1 and 2, the Hechtsheim Volunteer Fire Department with a total of 5 vehicles and 24 personnel, the emergency medical services with 3 vehicles, and the police with several patrol cars.

A thunderstorm front moving across Rheinhessen from the west led to an increased number of calls at the Mainz Fire Department control center. Fire departments in the control center’s coverage area had to respond to 18 weather-related incidents, six of which were in Mainz.

From 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the German Weather Service had issued a warning for thunderstorms with heavy rain and gusty winds. The forecasted thunderstorms began to hit Rheinhessen from the west starting at 5:20 p.m. The Mainz Fire Department Dispatch Center, which is responsible not only for Mainz but also for the districts of Alzey-Worms and Mainz-Bingen, subsequently received several emergency calls.

To handle the increased number of emergencies, all workstations at the control center were staffed by on-duty fire department personnel, significantly boosting capacity. Additionally, fire and disaster control inspectors were notified.

Of the 18 incidents, six occurred within the city limits of Mainz. In addition to the professional fire department, volunteer fire departments from Bretzenheim, Ebersheim, Laubenheim, and the city were also deployed. On the grounds of the Mainz Johannisnacht festival, the fire department assisted the operator in the area of the artists’ market with removing standing water.

No significant property damage or personal injuries have been reported. At 6:30 p.m., the fire department command center was able to conclude its severe weather operations.

This afternoon, a report of a house fire in Mainz-Drais was received via the 112 emergency hotline. What made this call particularly alarming was the report that two elderly people were believed to still be inside the burning house. The fire department dispatch center immediately alerted several vehicles to the scene.

On the way to the scene, heavy smoke was visible above the center of Mainz-Drais. Fortunately, the fire was merely a burning thuja hedge located directly next to the residential property. The fire department deployed multiple hoses to quickly bring the fire under control and prevent the flames from spreading to the house. This required several crews wearing breathing apparatus. Since the fire had already spread to several meters of the hedge, part of it had to be removed with a chainsaw. The hedge was then completely extinguished. Parts of a garage were also damaged in the fire. Fortunately, no one was injured during the operation. Only a gardener, who had attempted to fight the fire with a garden hose, was taken to the emergency room as a precaution.

In addition to the Mainz Professional Fire Department, the Drais Volunteer Fire Department, emergency medical services, and the police were on the scene. The police are currently investigating the cause of the fire.

The fire department expressly points out that independent attempts to extinguish a fire should only be undertaken with the utmost caution. When in doubt, always wait for the fire department to arrive and brief them on the situation on site.

While Friday had been fairly quiet from the fire department’s perspective, Friday evening turned out to be quite eventful. At 7:25 p.m., the fire department was alerted to a triggered fire alarm system on Saarstraße. Residents of an apartment building had noticed smoke in the stairwell and activated the manual fire alarm. The cause of the smoke in the stairwell was eventually traced to a retail store on the ground floor. Small cause, big effect: A pile of smoldering paper led to heavy smoke filling the office space, with smoke spreading to other parts of the building. The fire was extinguished using about 2 liters of water from a bucket pump. The scene was subsequently cleared of smoke using a positive pressure fan. The person who reported the incident—a member of a volunteer fire department in North Rhine-Westphalia who was visiting Mainz—reacted in an exemplary manner; he not only activated the manual fire alarm but also ensured the building was evacuated until the fire department arrived. Almost simultaneously, at 7:26 p.m., an emergency call from a train was received at the fire department control center. A woman reported that the S-Bahn she was riding in had been stuck in the tunnel for an hour and a half; it was stuffy and she was feeling nauseous. Contact with the emergency operations center confirmed that an S-Bahn train was stuck in the Mainz tunnel due to a malfunction. To assess the situation, emergency personnel were dispatched to the main station. At first, it was unclear exactly where the train was located, which required several phone calls to clarify the situation. More and more people called the emergency number from the train asking for help. When an emergency call came in reporting that a person had collapsed on the train, the railway was asked to close all tracks in both tunnels, and emergency crews from the fire department and ambulance service were sent to the north portal, the tunnel entrance, and the south portal. By 8:18 p.m., the track closure was in effect, allowing emergency personnel to advance to the train, which was two-thirds inside the old Mainz Tunnel and one-third in the tunnel portal. At the tunnel portal, the railway’s regional emergency service had already begun evacuating the train, with the fire department now providing support. The person who had collapsed was lifted out of the train and recovered quite quickly outdoors, so that they, too, were able to leave the tunnel under their own power, accompanied by the emergency medical services. A fire department team then lifted a wheelchair user out of the train and escorted them through the tunnel to the main station. A total of 200 people were evacuated from the train; the operation was completed around 9:30 p.m. The Mainz Fire Department was on the scene with 43 personnel from the professional fire department and the volunteer fire departments of Bretzenheim, Innenstadt, and Weisenau. The Wiesbaden Fire Department with 8 personnel. The emergency medical services, the Health Sector Command, and the SEG support team with 26 personnel. The two fire stations were staffed by personnel from the Mombach, Bretzenheim, and Marienborn volunteer fire departments. Off-duty personnel from the professional fire department were also called in.

At around 11:00 p.m., the fire department dispatch center was alerted to a basement fire on Sertoriusring—several callers reported a smoke-filled hallway. Crews from both professional fire stations and the Finthen Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene. In the basement of the building complex, a storage area containing stored items was on fire. A team wearing breathing apparatus proceeded to fight the fire and was able to bring it under control quickly. The basement storage area was partially cleared to extinguish any remaining embers—a second team wearing breathing apparatus had to carry out this task.

While the fire was being fought, the hallway was kept smoke-free using a high-performance fan to allow for a potential evacuation of the building. The mechanical smoke extraction in the basement took some time due to the size of the space and its division into several sections. At times, two high-performance fans were operated simultaneously.

Fortunately, there were no injuries. After approximately 2.5 hours, the last fire department personnel were able to leave the scene. In addition to the fire department, emergency medical services and the police were also on the scene. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Fire departments were also on the scene in the districts of Mainz-Bingen, Alzey-Worms, and the city of Mainz. The first emergency calls began coming into the dispatch center around 12:03 a.m. These were generally storm-related incidents, such as water in basements, branches on the road, or roads flooded with water. In addition, fire alarm systems—often due to water ingress into the electronics—and private smoke detectors alerted emergency responders. Technical rescue operations, such as animals threatened by water, were also handled by the volunteer fire departments of the districts as well as the full-time and volunteer emergency responders in the city of Mainz. We currently report 83 calls for the Mainz-Bingen district, 31 calls for the Alzey-Worms district, and 8 calls in the Mainz city area. The weather has calmed down at this time, and the fire departments are still handling all remaining tasks.