The fire brigade in Neuschönau, Bavaria, was practicing for emergencies – that was too loud for a resident. She picked up the pickaxe and sabotaged the exercise. The firefighters are appalled.
Fire brigade exercises are used to rehearse for emergencies – and things can get quite intense. After all, in the event of a fire, action must be taken quickly to extinguish the fire. A woman from Neuschönau in the Bavarian district of Freyung-Grafenau apparently had absolutely no understanding that it could get louder at times.
Because the noise level during the fire brigade exercise was too high for her, she grabbed a pickaxe and damaged a fire hose, reports the “Passauer Neue Presse”. Before that, another neighbor who was also bothered by the noise had tried to drive his car over the hose. The volunteer fire brigade spoke of “willful obstructions and vandalism” and pointed out that such behavior “in operational situations could cost lives”.
Deputy Mayor files complaint
“Exercises are an important part of our training so that we can help every citizen as quickly and professionally as possible,” the fire department added. During the joint exercise – the first after a long Corona break – the firefighters simulated the fire in a barn with an adjacent residential building. The local resident was apparently bothered by this. The second mayor of Neuschönau, Michael Segl, has filed a complaint against the woman. Segl was present at the exercise himself: “I’ve been with the military myself for well over 20 years. Nothing like this has ever happened to me.”
The damage is about 100 euros. But Segl is less concerned with the financial dimension of the incident: “It’s about the principle. It can’t be that common property is intentionally destroyed.” According to the deputy mayor, the voluntary work of the local volunteer fire brigade is trampled underfoot.
Sources: “Passauer Neue Presse” / Neuschönau Volunteer Fire Department on Facebook
