Odenwaldkreis
Efficient emergency coordination for fire protection, disaster and rescue services
The Odenwald district is responsible for the areas of fire protection supervision, supra-local fire protection, civil protection, disaster control and rescue services as part of non-police emergency response. As part of these tasks, it is the first point of contact for citizens and organizes and initiates the necessary emergency response and aid measures. For this purpose, the district operates a central control center in which the European emergency number 112 and various other numbers are queried and evaluated. With this information, the central control center coordinates and directs the necessary measures from dispatching, alerting, handling operations, arranging supply capacities and documentation. However, providing instructions for self-help or lay help, e.g. video-assisted telephone resuscitation, is also a permanent task.
In the event of major or complex incidents, the district and its command and control facilities become active, from fire protection supervision to the command staff to the disaster and administrative staff.
As a rescue service provider, a large part of the tasks involves planning and implementing the rescue service in order to achieve the statutory response time of 10 minutes stipulated in Hesse. This requires efficient and fast structures from the control center to the service provider.
These structures guarantee reliable emergency assistance and crisis management in the Odenwald district.
Civil protection goes digital
The EmergencyEye® software has been used in the Odenwald district since August 2023 to increase the efficiency of emergency assistance. In the event of an emergency call, it enables the central control center to determine the exact location, receive a live video feed via the cell phone camera and, if necessary, share it with other experts after obtaining the consent of the person making the call. This makes it easier to assess the situation and helps guide first responders. An additional chat function with translation options in 25 languages helps to overcome language barriers.
EmergencyEye® has already been used successfully many times since its introduction. For example, in the event of a truck fire, the video transmission made it possible to better assess the situation on site and inform the emergency services accordingly. The precise location also helped to quickly find and treat a horse rider who had been rescued in a wooded area.
The fire departments in the Odenwald district have been trained in the use of the software, and the command vehicles are equipped with EmergencyEye®.
The introduction of EmergencyEye® is part of the “Katastrophenschutz goes digital” project, which is funded by the state of Hesse. The aim is to improve civil protection through the use of digital technologies.