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Photo: Lars Angler, head of the disaster control department at the Erfurt professional fire department, (from left), the acting deputy for safety, environment and sport Ricarda Schreeg and Ralf Steinmann from Ströer Deutsche Städte Medien GmbH gave the starting signal for the new warning option.
Photo: © Erfurt City Administration
The warning service is free of charge for the city; Ströer's partner for this service is the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK). Ströer is therefore an official warning multiplier. Local partners are the fire department and civil protection of the state capital Erfurt.
The cooperation makes it possible to quickly display appropriate warning messages in an emergency through interfaces to the federal modular warning system (Mowas). The aim is to trigger all warning devices and warning multipliers in your own area of responsibility with just the push of a button and to send danger warnings on all available channels. The digital city information systems are connected to the satellite-based Mowas.
The Mowas warning system distinguishes between three danger levels: danger information (lowest level 3, e.g. a bomb defusal with lead time or weather warnings), danger (medium level 2, e.g. heavy rain or storm warnings) and extreme danger (highest danger level 1, e.g. B. major fire or release of hazardous substances with a large number of people affected and acute danger to life).
The warning messages that will be visible on Ströer's media media are clearly marked as warnings and, in addition to the actual warning content, also contain recommendations for behavior and, in the event of danger, are broadcast on all screens in the city within a few minutes, while the regular content is interrupted depending on the danger level becomes. If there is an all-clear or the message is canceled, the warning continues for another hour, marked with the “all-clear” stamp.
The digital screens are located in Erfurt at central and heavily frequented junctions and on main roads. Together with the Erfurt fire department's control center as the alarm-triggering point, Ströer has created the conditions to simultaneously display ad hoc reports on a total of 20 large-format digital areas in Erfurt and thus reach as many people as possible.
“We welcome the opportunity to provide direct information in public spaces about potential dangers and in the event of an emergency and the associated benefits for the population,” says the acting head of the Department for Safety, Environment and Sport, Ricarda Schreeg.
“As a long-standing partner of cities, we contribute to the urban communication infrastructure with our digital city media. Warnings or information from the fire brigade, police or authorities should reach the population as quickly and specifically as possible – also, or above all, in public spaces. With our media we reach a lot of people in a short time. We are very pleased that the state capital Erfurt can now display warning levels one to three on our media,” says Alexander Stotz, CEO of Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH.
The fire brigade and disaster control can also independently control individual screens and thus only alert the population to a dangerous situation in certain areas. The media advertisement also represents an effective implementation of the warning in public areas for people with hearing loss. The new warning option therefore also contributes to accessibility.
