Vol. 49, No. 12, October 2020
Serving the Greater Stuttgart
Military Community
www.stuttgartcitizen.com
Photo by Kenneth G. Takada, U.S. Army German and U.S. Army paratroopers board a CH-47 Chinook at Panzer Kaserne for a jump over a drop zone near Stuttgart to honor all who lost their lives in the Sept.11, 2001 terrorist attacks
Remembering 9/11 and POW/MIA Photo by Jason Johnston, USAG Stuttgart A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier displays the U.S. and POW/MIA flags during a ceremonial jump on September 11. German and American paratroopers boarded a CH-47 Chinook at Panzer Kaserne before jumping over a drop zone near Stuttgart in honor of all who lost their lives in the Sept 11 attacks. To see more images from the event turn to page 8.
Host nation firefighters respond to on-post fire alarms By Rick Scavetta U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart When fire alarms ring out at U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, German firefighters are often first to respond thanks to a longstanding partnership with host nation officials. Through mutual aid agreements, the garrison’s 31 paid firefighters, based mostly at Stuttgart Army Airfield, can rely on support from professional and volunteer fire stations in the area, said Karl Dörsam, USAGStuttgart’s fire chief. “We have strong relationships with local firefighters, in Stuttgart, Böblingen and Esslingen,” Dörsam said. “The host nation firefighters respond to the garrison installations, when they are called directly from 112 or are notified by our control center. We dispatch our units simultaneously.” For example, when a car caught fire last year outside of the Patch Barracks commissary, someone called 112 – the emergency number in Europe. “In this case, the call went to the host
nation dispatch center downtown. They dispatched their units, a legal requirement, and notified us simultaneously,” Dörsam said, adding that Battalion 5, professional firefighters from Degerloch are first responders for Patch Barracks. Meanwhile, German volunteers nearby in Vaihingen rushed to their firehouse, donned gear, jumped on their trucks and rolled, Dörsam said. USAG-Stuttgart firefighters began their response as well. “Whoever gets there first takes the first action,” said Dörsam. “In this case, the host nation was first and we were second, so we joined in.” If USAG-Stuttgart receives a report of a fire in progress or a medical emergency on any of the garrison’s installations, they immediately contact host nation fire crews to respond, Dörsam said. In 2019, host nation firefighters responded to 19 emergency calls on post. This year, so far, they have responded 11 times. See FIREFIGHTERS, page 5
Photo by Jason Johnston, TSC Stuttgart German firefighters normally take part in an on-post exercise each year, as they did in Sept. 2019's Stallion Shake at Robinson Barracks. Due to coronavirus, this year's exercise was postponed.
