page_title: Fire on the Lüneburg Heath
section_title: Fire fighting operation
hierarchical_section_title: Fire on the Lüneburg Heath / Fire fighting operation
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Brand in der Lüneburger Heide 1975 – Löschfahrzeuge der freiwilligen Feuerwehr (Mercedes-Benz, Magirus-Deutz) und der Bundeswehr (Magirus-Deutz) sowie Wasserwerfer des BGS (Wasserwerfer 4000) sammeln sich in Eschede für den Einsatz. English: Fire engines of the Bundeswehr, the Bundesgrenzschutz and volunteer fire fighters at the town of Eschede.
context_page_description: The fire on the Lüneburg Heath was a major forest fire in 1975 on the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany, with various points of origin near Gifhorn, Eschede and Meinersen. To this day, it is the largest known forest fire in the Federal Republic of Germany.
context_section_description: About 15,000 fire fighters from across Germany fought the fire. A total of 3,800 fire engines were deployed. Other authorities such as the police, Bundesgrenzschutz, customs, Technisches Hilfswerk and Forestry Commission as well as aid organisations like the German Red Cross, St. John's Ambulance, Malteser Hilfsdienst and Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund were engaged in fighting the forest fires in Lower Saxony.
  But only when around 11,000 Bundeswehr soldiers with cross-country capable vehicles and heavy clearance equipment (including armoured recovery tanks with dozer blades) were deployed could the fire be contained by the creation of firebreaks.
  In addition there were many British troops deployed in particular AVRE's (Assault Vehicles Royal Engineers) from 26 Armoured Engineer Squadron from Hohne garrison.
  For the first time, three aerial firefighter aircraft of the Canadair CL-215 type from France were used in support. These were exclusively used to protect small hamlets and farmsteads in the fire zone. They picked up water from the Steinhuder Meer. Airport fire appliances from the Rhineland were stationed at a Bundeswehr barracks in Wesendorf north of  Gifhorn.
  Firefighting was made more difficult by the weather conditions, the poor going on the tracks and constantly changing winds. The biggest problem however was an acute lack of water to fight the fire. Most of the natural water sources such as ponds, gravel pits or rivers were a long way from the sites of the fire. Water tenders had to travel long distances in order to refill their tanks.
caption: Fire engines of the Volunteer Fire Service and the Bundeswehr as well as Wawe4000 water cannons from the Hanover Riot Police gather in Eschede for operations
exif: {}