Fire Engines Photos

This is a 40 ton crane. Berlin has three, and most cities in Germany have one or two, sometimes with capacities up to 60 or 70 tons.

In districts with numerous smaller towns, they are dispersed to selected fire stations, and often manned by specially trained volunteers. They are extensively deployed at major road traffic accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles, which can be a frequent occurrence on the autobahns, as well as tramway and rail accidents and building collapse and explosions, and are also quite often used as water towers at industrial fires.

Added by Rob Johnson on 20 June 2023.

Totally right Rob, I also learned recently that these cranes are more and more used to lift and evacuate oversized victims from high floors.

Added by Jacques PETER on 21 June 2023.

Yes, there is actually a YouTube film of just this. If you enter "feuerwehrkran” there are several videos of them in use, at accidents, removing dangerous trees, doing the extractions and also operating as water towers. Getting bedridden patients out of upper floor apartments where they cannot be removed via the lift or internal staircase is quite a common special service call for fire brigades in many of those countries where most urban dwellers live in apartment buildings. Usually this is accomplished using a TL or AP, but with the expanding obesity of people it is not surprising that the cranes are now being brought into play. Many EMS providers also have full sized trucks as ambulances too, so they can fit into the vehicle which is required to transport the patient too!

Added by Rob Johnson on 21 June 2023.

Please add your comments about this picture using the form below.

Comments

Your Name

Your email address - this will be shown on the page and will allow the system to notify you of further comments added to this picture.