Regional Control Center Northwest Brandenburg

The regional control center is the hub for receiving emergency calls and for the allocation and organization of emergency vehicles for the ambulance service and the fire department for the districts of Havelland, Ostprignitz-Ruppin, and Prignitz, as well as for the state capital Potsdam.

On December 15, 2010, it began full operations and has since handled approximately 120,000 emergency calls each year, resulting in 90,000 deployments for the fire department and ambulance service.

Indicators for the establishment of regional control centers.

Based on the following indicators:

• at least 450,000 residents,
• at least 4,500 square kilometers,
• there may be a maximum of one professional fire department within the jurisdiction of the regional control center,
• an even distribution of hazard focal points, and
• at least 50,000 deployments per year,

a total of five regional control centers have been established.

Control center areas

The Brandenburg Fire and Disaster Protection Act of the state of Brandenburg, in conjunction with the Regional Control Center Regulation, served as the basis for the establishment of regional control center areas throughout the state of Brandenburg. The aim was to consolidate many small control centers into a few larger ones.

In addition to the control center in Potsdam, there are currently four other control centers in the state of Brandenburg. This interconnected network provides redundancy in case of failures of other control centers, as well as the situation center of the state of Brandenburg. The consolidation has created larger contiguous areas, making it easier to manage major disaster situations.

Regional control centers in the state of Brandenburg

• Lausitz, based in Cottbus and responsible for the districts of Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Dahme-Spreewald, and Elbe-Elster, as well as the city of Cottbus.
• Oderland, based in Frankfurt (Oder) and responsible for the districts of Oder-Spree and Märkisch-Oderland, as well as the city of Frankfurt (Oder).
• Northeast, based in Eberswalde and responsible for the districts of Barnim, Oberhavel, and Uckermark, as well as the city of Eberswalde.
• Brandenburg, based in Brandenburg an der Havel and responsible for the districts of Potsdam-Mittelmark and Teltow-Fläming, as well as the city of Brandenburg an der Havel.
• Northwest, based in Potsdam and responsible for the districts of Havelland, Ostprignitz-Ruppin, and Prignitz, as well as the city of Potsdam.

What does the control center look like?

At 10 workstations, employees, supported by modern computer technology, can trigger alarms and keep track of ongoing operations. Based on the respective scenario, the system makes suggestions for dispatching to standardize the alerts.

So, if you dial the European emergency number 112 on your phone within the geographic area described above, your call will be received at the fire and rescue station in Potsdam, as that is where the control center is located.

Responsible for an area of approximately 6,500 km² and about 500,000 residents in the state of Brandenburg, all operations are coordinated here around the clock.

What you should pay attention to when making an emergency report

Try to remain calm and address the following questions:

• Where is the emergency location?
• What is the emergency?
• Are there any injured persons?
• Name of the caller
• Wait for follow-up questions

Please do not hang up before the conversation is finished.