FLORIAN gets off to a flying start in Dresden - over 6,000 visitors on the first day of the trade fair
Blue lights, vehicle premieres, innovations, deployment exercises, test drives, drone squadron, recruitment test and thousands of rescuers - FLORIAN 2023 has grown significantly and is already a crowd puller! Densely packed exhibition halls since the start at 9 a.m. today - over 6,000 visitors were already there on the first day. "We've never had that before," says a delighted Roland Zwerenz, Managing Director of organizer ORTEC. FLORIAN 2023 is thus continuing its record-breaking course: over 350 exhibitors from 11 countries on 30,000 square meters are taking part this year - more than ever before.
FLORIAN will be showcasing the latest innovations, technologies and concepts for the fire department, THW, rescue services and disaster control until October 14 and also offers the opportunity for further training on current specialist topics - from A for respiratory protection conference to S for social media in the fire department. Numerous product innovations can be found at this year's FLORIAN - from new vehicles to offers for support in daily operations, from digitalization to decontamination. This year, start-ups are once again bringing their innovative strength to the trade fair - from extinguishing drones to extinguishing systems for electric vehicles.
The trade fair was opened by Dr. Frank Pfeil, State Secretary in the Saxon Ministry of the Interior. Eastern Germany is forest fire country - many and very large fires in the summer of 2022, especially in Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, required long and difficult operations by the fire department. This year, the state ministry's stand will focus explicitly on the topic of fighting forest fires and vegetation fires. The latest technology from the forest fire fighting disaster units will be on display here. Among other things, the new Saxon TLF 3000 Wald was presented to the general public for the first time today. This vehicle was designed based on the technical recommendation of the German Fire Brigade Association, experience and initial analyses of the last major forest fires in Saxony. 15 forest fire fighting vehicles are currently being procured by the SMI for the new "forest fire fighting unit" disaster control units to be set up in the districts of Meißen and Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains as well as in the Ore Mountains district. The total weight of this vehicle type is around 15 tons. The special feature of this vehicle, which is based on a standardized TLF 3000, is that it is built on a category 3 chassis - an all-terrain vehicle that is suitable for driving on all roads and for cross-country driving. The vehicle is equipped with a water tank of 4,000 liters and a permanently installed foam compound tank for holding 100 liters of Class A foam compound. The model vehicle will be presented by the Free State of Saxony at the "FLORIAN 2023".
The FLORIAN got off to a flying start with a highlight: the unveiling and handover of the "Mini Panther", manufactured by the renowned fire engine manufacturer Rosenbauer. The original project is aimed specifically at children with an interest in firefighting and will be used primarily for visitor tours and events. Up to 15 Rosenbauer trainees were involved in the construction of the "Mini-Panther". The construction of the miniature version was based on the production of its big brother. The trainees were supported in the production process not only by their training company, but also by colleagues from the visitor service and the airport fire department at Dresden Airport. In future, the model vehicle will be part of the educational program for young visitors to Dresden Airport. As in previous years, the airport fire departments from Dresden and Leipzig will be represented at the trade fair for fire departments, civil protection and disaster control.
Another new feature of FLORIAN is the opportunity to test drive quads and ATVs. These small, all-terrain vehicles can be used to explore emergency sites in the event of severe weather and flooding and can also reach places where no fire engine can get through. As a result, they are also very popular for fighting forest fires. During the forest fire in Saxon Switzerland last summer, the quads brought everything the firefighters needed up the mountain - fuel, drinking water, equipment and hoses. After evaluating the incident, Saxony's expert commission "Forest Fires Summer 2022" recommended the purchase.
In addition to other new products, there will also be a premiere in the specialist program: the first specialist conference on disasters and special situations will take place on Friday, 13 October. The risk of violence and terrorist situations has increased: the principles of police deployment management will be presented using the example of a life-threatening operational situation, operational reports from attacks in Hamburg and Berlin will be on the program and patient care by special forces will be presented. A total of over 130 contributions will be on the trade fair program and invite visitors to take part in further training.
Visitors to FLORIAN can also look forward to daily demonstrations - from drone demonstrations and technical assistance to the rescue dog team. There will also be a VR training area again in 2023 - this year with training courses on situational awareness in special situations. The Dresden fire department will be providing information on training to become an emergency paramedic and fire officer candidate and offering recruitment tests. Operational exercises at the exhibition stand will illustrate how the emergency services care for patients who have had accidents or rescue emergency personnel in distress. FLORIAN runs until October 14, 2023 at MESSE DRESDEN and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The full trade fair ticket costs €10, members of the fire department and all volunteers in the field of disaster control and rescue services receive a reduced admission fee of €4. The FLORIAN app is available to download free of charge - it provides all the important information about FLORIAN to help you prepare for the trade fair. More at http://www.messe-florian.de
Free for publication / For press enquiries: ORTEC Messe und Kongress GmbH, Ines Kurze,Tel.0351 315330, E-Mail: presse@ortec.de
