Erfurt Fire Department puts together an important bag for rescue operations

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Photo: Christian Hagedorn (left) and Lars Angler/ Steve Bauerschmidt

 

Chemical burns often happen faster than expected. In the household, alkalis and acids are used primarily in cleaning products; chemical burns can lead to injuries in crafts and industry, but also in electromobility. Thanks to a new type of decontamination bag from the state capital, fire departments nationwide will be able to provide quick and easy relief in the future.

Sales take place nationwide under the name “Model Fire Department Erfurt”

Members of the Erfurt fire department worked on the development of this bag for around ten years. The core team with Christian Stäblein, Marcus Gessler, Martin Hollitzer and Lars Angler first dealt with the topic of a decontamination bag in 2013 as part of a basic training course at the state fire brigade school in Bad Köstritz. “Back then, we had a small green bag for practice purposes that contained the most necessary tools from various manufacturers for treating chemical burns. However, there were hardly any suitable products on the market back then,” explains Lars Angler. According to Angler, another driver of development was the solar industry, which in 2013 was still based in the Erfurt area and worked with corrosive hydrofluoric acids.

“This bag was intended for quick help in the event of household and industrial accidents. It should supplement the existing loading of the vehicles for operational hygiene. “We also needed something to better protect our own people during operations,” says Angler. Vehicles used for dangerous goods should also be loaded with this bag in the future.

The bag was revised several times, including as new products came onto the market, until work on the now finalized version finally began in 2020. The products included essentially come from EST biochem GmbH in Pulheim, have a shelf life of almost two years and are therefore attractive to purchase even for customers with fewer uses.

“The Erfurt fire department has been our customer for several years. At a trade fair in October 2023, we finally started talking about revising the existing version of the bag with our products and finally marketing it," says Christian Hagedorn, Managing Director of EST biochem GmbH, explaining the process of the cooperation. The Erfurt fire department is a recognized player in the industry nationwide and is a suitable partner due to its many years of experience.

“We already know that some fire departments across the country have been waiting for this new version of the decontamination bag. That’s why we received a number of reservation requests before sales even started,” says Hagedorn happily. He sees the target group for the product as fire departments and rescue services, but also factory fire departments in industry. Sales are initially planned nationwide from July; the European market is the indirect goal.

Source: Press releases from the state capital Erfurt