New station for plant fire department
- Wieland invests 4.6 million euros in Vöhringen
- Accomodation for six rescue vehicles and 40 rescue workers
- Procurement of two new rescue vehicles
After a construction period of about one and a half years, the new fire station of the Wieland plant’s fire department in Vöhringen is now open. Together with CEO Dr. Erwin Mayr, plant manager Eckhart Zimmermann handed over the building to the head of the plant’s fire department, Stefan Linner. Also present at the ceremony were the county mayor of the county of Neu-Ulm, Thorsten Freudenberger (CSU), and Michael Neher, mayor of the town of Vöhringen. "This investment once again shows how important the Vöhringen site is for Wieland," Mayr explains. "We take our role as a responsible employer seriously and will continue to create more jobs in the region in the future."
The plant’s fire department in Vöhringen was founded in 1898. Its mission was to ensure safety on the factory premises and to support the local fire departments in Vöhringen and neighboring towns. Today, more than 120 years later, the task of the current 40 firefighters is the same. However, the demands towards the work as well as the equipment have changed significantly. In order to meet these challenges, it was necessary to build a new fire station. Plant manager Eckhart Zimmermann comments: "Numerous fire stations in the administrative district of Schwaben are currently being extensively renovated or newly built as the original buildings no longer met the requirements to obtain approval certificates approval . Here, at the Vöhringen site, it was more sustainable in the end to redesign and construct a new building instead of remodeling it." The result is not only a functional building: the new station has an impressive two-tone façade and, thanks to the green roof, it makes a positive contribution to climate protection.
The architectural office Wassung Bader Architekten PartGmbB from Tettnang was responsible for the planning of the new station, while the construction work was carried out by Matthäus Schmid Bauunternehmen GmbH & Co. KG from Baltringen as main contractor.
Excellent interior design
The approximately 1,500-square-meter station now offers optimal conditions: In the vehicle hall, there is not only space for six emergency vehicles, but also for a workshop. This also made it possible to purchase two new vehicles worth a total of around 900,000 euros. In addition, there is a room in the event of an alarm and a room for situation briefings, a modern respiratory protection facility, a cleaning facility - also for chemical contamination - and a storage facility for the extensive emergency clothing and protective equipment. "Our new airlock prevents possible contamination of private clothing and staff lounges with pollutants through consistent black-and-white separation. This prevents potentially soiled clothing from reaching sensitive areas of the station in the first place," explains Zimmermann. The new changing rooms and sanitary facilities will also finally allow the hiring of female rescue personnel. "We are looking forward to welcoming the first female colleagues to the team," says Zimmermann.
Frequently in action
The Wieland plant fire department is called for about 60 incidents per year, but roughly 50 percent of them are false alarms. The reasons for the calls are varied: starting with fire, to the escape of chemical and environmentally hazardous substances, traffic accidents or the typical cat rescue from a tree. The basis for this is the intensive training the plant fire department completes. They complete the same program as the volunteer fire departments – including numerous exercises in all areas.
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[Image] New fire station of the Wieland plant’s fire department in Vöhringen
Get in touch
Wieland Group
Adriana Williams | Vice President Marketing & Communications
Graf-Arco-Straße 36 | 89079 Ulm | Germany
P +49 152 28403220 | adriana.williams@wieland.com
Wieland Group
Eckhart Zimmermann | Vice President Global Engineering
Wielandstraße 26, 89269 Vöhringen | Germany
P +49 172 6275938 | eckhart.zimmermann@wieland.com