Our public rela­tions depart­ment will be happy to answer any press inquiries you may have. We will be happy to provide you with infor­ma­tion about our orga­ni­za­tion and oper­a­tional activities.

In addi­tion, we also provide experts on the topics of disas­ter relief, earth­quakes, forest fires as well as forest fire fight­ing at any time and at short notice. We are avail­able as compe­tent and expe­ri­enced inter­view part­ners for news­pa­per, tele­vi­sion and radio.

Our contact persons are avail­able 24 hours a day for this purpose.

Direct contact persons

@fire - Internationaler Katastrophenschutz Fachbereichsleiter Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

Sebas­t­ian
Baum

Head of Depart­ment
Public rela­tions

@fire - Internationaler Katastrophenschutz Stellvertretender Fachbereichsleiter Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

Tim
Heunisch

deputy Head of Depart­ment
Public rela­tions

@fire - Internationaler Katastrophenschutz Vorstand Sebastian Hodapp

Sebas­t­ian
Hodapp

Exec­u­tive Board / Press and
Public rela­tions

Press releases

You can find our latest press releases in our news­room on the news aktuell press portal.

About @fire

The non-profit aid orga­ni­za­tion @fire - Inter­na­tionaler Katas­tro­phen­schutz Deutsch­land e. V. has been provid­ing rapid emer­gency aid world­wide follow­ing devas­tat­ing natural disas­ters since 2002.

Respon­ders are specially trained in wild­land fire­fight­ing (WFF) and search and rescue of buried victims after earth­quakes (USAR). All of the more than 400 members are involved in national and inter­na­tional disas­ter relief on a volun­tary and unpaid basis.

The civil protec­tion orga­ni­za­tion was clas­si­fied as the world’s first Light USAR Team by the United Nations Inter­na­tional Search and Rescue Advi­sory Group (INSARAG) in 2021 and oper­ates accord­ing to inter­na­tional standards.

Fund­ing for oper­a­tions, train­ing, and equip­ment is primar­ily donor-funded.

Rubble Rescue (USAR)

In the field of rubble rescue (USAR), the search and rescue of buried victims, @fire provides a light USAR team in accor­dance with the guide­lines of INSARAG, an organ­i­sa­tion of the United Nations, in which the focus is partic­u­larly on locat­ing buried victims in the rubble, rescu­ing them and provid­ing them with medical care.

To this end, @fire has special­ized equip­ment on hand, rang­ing from track­ing devices to recov­ery equip­ment to medical equip­ment. Our helpers are special­ists in search­ing for and rescu­ing buried victims as well as in emer­gency medical care. They are supported in the rescue work by specially trained search dogs, which provide valu­able help with their fine noses.

Vege­ta­tion Fire Fight­ing (WFF)

@fire can deploy forest fire units of differ­ent sizes and orien­ta­tions at short notice. From forest fire advi­sors to mobile fire-fight­ing teams that cut fire-fight­ing paths in impass­able terrain, From units with all-terrain vehi­cles or for laying down advance and return fire to heli­copter crews (“Heli­tack”), the asso­ci­a­tion can flex­i­bly to oper­a­tional needs world­wideresond.

He works with meth­ods that make it possi­ble to fight vege­ta­tion fires with little or no water. In addi­tion, he is involved in train­ing fire brigades in vege­ta­tion fire­fight­ing and supports fo r estryas well as ecol­o­gists in renat­u­ra­tion through controlled burn­ing, for exam­ple of heath areas.