"Lighthouses" as first points of contact How our municipalities are preparing for a blackout

Rhein-Sieg region · What happens if there is a nationwide power blackout? This is something experts are not ruling this out. The municipalities are preparing for this kind of emergency. We checked in Siegburg, Hennef, Sankt Augustin and Niederkassel.

The fire brigade in Sankt Augustin is well prepared for an emergency. Power generators are part of their equipment.

The fire brigade in Sankt Augustin is well prepared for an emergency. Power generators are part of their equipment.

Foto: Ralf Klodt

Experts cannot rule out the possibility of a blackout in winter. An area-wide outage of the power supply would possibly not be local, so moving to a neighbouring municipality or to friends or family in close-by areas is not really an option. The municipalities are preparing for this eventuality. What are the emergency plans? Will there be contact points for citizens if such an eventuality should actually occur? We asked the municipalities. This is what they have to say.

  • Hennef

"An acute shortage or failure of the electricity or gas supply would have serious consequences. Preventive action with foresight is therefore necessary," Hennef's mayor Mario Dahm (SPD) explained to the main committee at the end of August when he announced the installation of eight so-called disaster control lighthouses (KAT Leuchttürme). These are intended as contact points for the administration, but also for citizens who will find help there. At the moment, the details of how these contact points will be equipped are still being worked out, spokesperson Dominique Müller-Grote said when questioned. But the eight locations have been decided: the city hall will be the seat of the Staff for Exceptional Events (Stab für außergewöhnliche Ereignisse - SAE). In addition, there are "lighthouses" in Meiersheide ( canteen, multi-purpose hall, sports hall), the Uckerath primary school, the Söven, Happerschoß, Uckerath fire stations, the town of Blankenberg and the Hennef fire station.

The locations would all have to have emergency power supplies. Moreover, if the usual means of communication fail, they must be able to communicate with each other and with the crisis team. It is surprising that there is apparently no money for this endeavour from the state or the federal government. At least there are no funds in sight, "but they would be urgently needed", says the mayor. "In the event of a blackout, the sewage works, the emergency services and the building depot must also be operational, even if they do not serve as lighthouses," says Dahm.

  • Sankt Augustin

Sankt Augustin municipality will set up KAT lighthouses in the six fire stations of the volunteer fire brigade, says Robert May of the municipal press office: in Mülldorf, Gartenstraße 31, in Hangelar, Graf-Zeppelin-Straße 5, in Menden, Siegstraße 131, in Meindorf, Liebfrauenstraße 27a, in Niederpleis, Schulstraße 4 and in Buisdorf, Frankfurter Straße 60. At these locations, people should be able to warm up "at short notice", receive first aid and information on the current situation. It should also be possible to accept and pass on emergency calls in the event of a telephone network failure.

The sites are equipped with emergency generators, electric heaters, kettles, automatic hot water and hot beverage dispensers, blankets as well as communication facilities for the fire brigade's technical command via radio or satellite. "At each of the KAT lighthouses, 1000 litres of drinking water are also kept on hand as emergency rations," says May. "Of course, the fire brigade has contingency plans in case the regular fire water supply is unavailable. These contingency plans include running and standing water as well as shuttles by large water-carrying fire engines."

Citizens will be informed about the activation of the "lighthouses" via loudspeaker announcements or - if available - via radio and internet. "The flood disaster in 2021 showed how important it is to be prepared for different scenarios," says Mayor Max Leitterstorf (CDU). That is why it is vital to stop a power or gas outage as far as possible by taking energy-saving measures. Leitterstorf: "But if it should come to that, our KAT lighthouses will be prepared."

  • Siegburg

The major power outage in the high-altitude towns of the Rhein-Sieg district and the flood disaster last year led the city of Siegburg to consider early on how it could better prepare for emergency or power outage scenarios, also in light of climate change. "That's why the city administration has been keeping an eye on the issue not only since the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis," says city spokesperson Jan Gerull. For this reason, Siegburg allocated almost half a million euros in the 2022 budget in the area of fire protection and emergency rescue - for an emergency power trailer and the implementation of the "72 hours without power" concept. Gerull: "This concept, however, and this emphasis is important, primarily refers to safeguarding the ability of our fire brigade and rescue service to act as key first responders."

In the case of large new municipal buildings and in the current renovation of the town hall, infrastructures would also be created to enable the supply of electricity even in the event of a power failure, either through installing generators or through connections for mobile, external emergency power units. "We are currently working on adapting the emergency scenarios that have always existed in terms of civil protection to the new requirements in the energy crisis. Setting up collective shelters is one aspect of this," explains Gerull.

  • Niederkassel

Given the current ongoing discussion about the consequences of the energy shortage, Niederkassel's mayor Stephan Vehreschild (CDU) and alderman Carsten Walbröhl launched the Staff for Extraordinary Events (SAE) on Thursday. The SAE is responsible for managing all civil protection measures in the city area in the event of special hazard situations and coordinates the actions of all those involved in order to protect the population. "We have been working for a long time at the city with constantly updated emergency plans for scenarios of all kinds," explains Vehreschild. For example, Niederkassel has emergency generators for the important infrastructure in case of a power failure. These are the waterworks, sewage works, town hall and the fire stations of the volunteer fire brigade. At the same time, the seven fire brigade appliance houses are contact points for the population (KAT lighthouses) when medical emergencies occur. Cooperation with the German Red Cross (DRK), for example, when people have to be given artificial respiration and need electricity to do so, will also run through these contact points.

This and much more is coordinated by the SAE in Niederkassel. It consists of representatives from the fire brigade, the city administration, the public order department as well as the administration management. "The administration does everything to maintain our critical infrastructure and to help the population in emergency situations. However, we cannot take over personal care, because these are all only accompanying measures," Walbröhl emphasises. Crisis prevention in Germany is based on personal responsibility, says the councillor, referring to guides for emergency preparedness and correct action in emergency situations.

(Original text: Dylan Cem Akalin and Dieter Hombach; Translation: Jean Lennox)

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