No other high-altitude rope rescue competition attracts as many spectators as the German Rope Rescue Championships, which will next be staged on Saturday, 20 June, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., at INTERSCHUTZ 2020 in Hannover, Germany. The event is guaranteed to reach new heights, with the registration phase set to begin shortly.
It wasn’t long ago that rope-rescue contestants were climbing back down the masts of Hamburg’s Rickmer Rickmers sailing ship, and now planning for the next contest has already begun: The 17th competition for Germany’s professional firefighters, hosted by the Hannover Fire Brigade, will be part of INTERSCHUTZ 2020 in Hannover next June.
“On Saturday at INTERSCHUTZ, all eyes will be on the rescuers,” said Dieter Rohrberg, Head of the Hannover Fire Brigade. “It will be a chance for the teams to show off their skills in a fantastic setting.”
A total of 15 rope-rescue teams from German professional fire brigades will be competing for the title at INTERSCHUTZ, where they will not only be getting together to compete, but also to share experience. At the same time, the audience will be treated to the latest news about products and equipment for successful high- and low-altitude rope rescue.
The competition tender kicks off in October. Here speed is of the essence, for the first 15 teams to apply will have the chance to compete.
The precise tasks will remain secret until the competition on 20 June 2020. One thing is certain, though: There will be three stations. While the best team will make off with the coveted trophy, none of the teams will go away empty-handed.
Of the 110 professional fire brigades in Germany, more than half currently have rope-rescue teams. The biggest teams belong to the big fire brigades in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt/Main. But the fire brigades from Düsseldorf and Hannover are also well-positioned, given their size. In addition, the THW disaster relief organization also has a rope rescue team, as do several volunteer fire brigades.
Initial training for high and low-altitude rope rescue lasts 80 hours, with a further 72 hours of training required every year. For the rope rescuers of the Hannover Fire Brigade, the year 2020 also represents an anniversary, since it was 20 years ago that rope rescue first came on the scene in Hannover. That was due to the World Exposition 2000, staged in Hannover, which featured a cable car. In order to be prepared for a potential cable car accident, the Hannover Fire Brigade formed its first rope rescue team at that time.
