Fires – Hanover – Pistorius: stationing of fire-fighting aircraft 2023 – panorama
Hanover (dpa / lni) – According to Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Boris Pistorius, the planned stationing of two fire-fighting aircraft in Lower Saxony to fight forest fires will probably be implemented in the new year. That said the SPD politician at the request of the German Press Agency in Hanover. According to the ministry, it is planned that Lower Saxony will initially lease two aircraft for 2023 and 2024. The background is a so-called civil protection procedure of the EU – when countries help each other, for example when there are forest fires.
“With the devastating fires in the Harz Mountains, everyone saw how important it was to use the fire-fighting aircraft from Italy,” said Pistorius. In September, a fire on the Brocken kept the fire brigade in suspense for days. Up to eight fire-fighting helicopters and several fire-fighting planes fought the flames in the meantime. The fire triggered a debate about the causes of the recurring fires in the Harz Mountains.
Pistorius announced for the new year that he intends to further modernize fire and disaster protection. The protection of the civilian population and the reconstruction of the siren network are elementary, he said. The Minister of the Interior named the expansion of capacity in the reception of refugees as a further key issue for 2023. “Another topic is the importance of sport for our society. Especially in the crisis we need this cohesion that sport exemplifies,” said Pistorius, who is also the state’s sports minister.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:221231-99-61355/2