“Fire is not calculated, it is identified,” says Andreas Meyer of the Baden-Wuerttemberg State Fire Brigade School. In other words, the theory is very important, but practical success is ultimately what matters: you can and must calculate how much of which extinguishing agent is needed physically and chemically to extinguish a certain type of fire. “But in the event of a major fire, for example, you have to quickly analyse the danger and make decisions,” says the experienced trainer and firefighter.
At the State Fire Brigade School, participants learn theory and practice in equal measure. Every year, around 6,500 men and women come to Bruchsal and complete a total of 40,000 days of training on around 50 different courses. It is about imparting knowledge and craftsmanship, but also about leadership training - in other words learning how to work with the team and the equipment. The courses are aimed not only at fulltime professional firefighters but also at the many voluntary fire brigades and works fire brigades in Baden-Wuerttemberg and beyond.
CAMPUS AND BOARDING SCHOOL
The value of a digital locking and access system becomes clear when you look around the school campus here in Bruchsal: Those who come here for training and further education live on the campus because the seminars can last several days, and even weeks. There is a separate 210-room hotel on the site for the participants. In addition to this accommodation, the campus also has a training facility and a fire station where handling of fire is simulated - as well as administrative offices and a canteen. It was not until 2017 that the former two fire school locations were merged into one at this site.
ANDREAS MEYER: “This makes access control among employees and guests a very complex matter - a classic task for DOM security systems. The battery-operated locking cylinders could easily be retrofitted so that subsequent wiring was not necessary – an important point, as the new building was initially planned without a digital locking system.”
ACCESS AND TIME RECORDING
The simplicity of the retrofit and the flexibility of the authorisation management impressed the school - but also “how easy it was ultimately to meet the demanding task of creating a locking plan with the DOM system. None of us are qualified lock professionals here - but it was no problem at all for us to map our needs and security requirements in the system”. Thilo Vetter, the engineer responsible for all building services at the FireBrigade School, has set up various authorisation groups for hotels, schools and administration: “For example, the transponders for the participants allow access to their rooms only. Areas with high-security requirements allow access only to selected authorised individuals: for example to protect vehicles and valuable equipment.”
