On Wednesday, September 14, 2022, punctually at 4:00 p.m., the time had come: the old fire truck of the former Dachau paper mill rolled back in restored condition and highly polished onto the site of the future Mühlbachviertel, which Isaria is realizing for Deutsche Wohnen. This time, however, it was not a fireman behind the wheel, but David Christmann, spokesman for the Isaria management. He had personally picked up the classic car from the Stern dealership in Allach and transferred it to its old home. “For us, it is important to preserve the history of the MD paper mill and to make sure that what took place on this site for over a hundred years is also recognizable in the new Mühlbachviertel. That is why we have had the two fire engines of the mill fire department restored. How we will incorporate them into the new Mühlbach Quarter, however, is still an open question.”
David Christmann and the fire truck were received by the current Dachau Volunteer Fire Department, who together with Commander Thomas Hüller, Chairman Florian Reiter and Deputy Commander Gerd Lobmeier and a new emergency vehicle informed the interested spectators and children about the work of the fire department.
The history of the mill fire department
The paper mill fire department was founded by Louis Weinmann on December 7, 1873, and accordingly would have celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. During this time, the fire department was a plant fire department. Unlike many companies that maintain their own company fire department for emergencies on their own premises, a plant fire department must also be available for operations outside the company premises.
For this reason, the Dachau paper mill had to maintain operational emergency vehicles, which were regularly checked by the district administration office to ensure that they were fit for service. In addition, the paper mill provided its own firefighters, who were regularly trained and instructed. At the best of times, the paper mill employed up to 70 firefighters, who were in regular contact with the Dachau Volunteer Fire Department. As a four-shift operation, eight ready firefighters and a commander were on standby during each shift.
Mainly the factory fire department was used on the factory premises. The last major fire to be extinguished was the debarking drum fire in 1991, which was brought under control by the rapid response and with the help of the Dachau Volunteer Fire Department.
For the Dachau Volunteer Fire Department, the welcoming event for the old fire trucks 31 years later was the much happier date. Nevertheless, it is good to know that the active fire department could still intervene at any time in an emergency – albeit – fortunately – with much more modern emergency vehicles.
