The Dresden Fire Department is a large fire department with over 500 comrades on duty at the professional fire department and a further 650 volunteer comrades at the district fire departments. In 2021, 774 fire calls and 6,097 calls for assistance/ABC were made.
Due to the constantly increasing number of operations, a new, more efficient laundry had to be created in Dresden according to the latest requirement profiles. For this reason, existing buildings in Dresden, including a vehicle hall, were converted. The space concept therefore had to be integrated into the existing rooms. Due to the size of the professional fire department, two barrier washing machines of Electrolux Professional WB6-27 were used. Thus, the personal protective equipment (PPE) laundry in Dresden meets the current requirements in terms of hygiene. Through practical planning, all connections were perfectly prepared on site, so that the installation could be completed quickly.
During all operations, the comrades wear special PPE to avert danger to life and limb of the rescue workers. During each operation, the PPE of the comrades is stressed and must be reconditioned as quickly as possible according to the contamination in order to ensure the full protection of the comrades again during the next operation.
A PPE suit is not just a jacket and trousers. No, they are technical fabrics, which are supposed to protect the comrades during the operations. In order to maintain these protective functions, it is important to recondition the PPE after the operations. Even clothing that has not been used during the year should be reprocessed at least once a year.
For the Dresden Fire Department, it is important to ensure process reliability around a hygienic and sustainable complete solution that is geared to maintaining the protective functions of the PPE. All specifications of the PPE manufacturers must be observed. The aim is to ensure that the PPE is available again quickly and, above all, professionally reprocessed, thus guaranteeing the operational capability of the fire brigade.
Process safety includes clearly defined washing programs in which the detergents are dosed fully automatically. Since Electrolux Professional washing machines have an integrated weighing system with load cells, the detergent is precisely dosed to the actual load weight.
This is very important for both hygienic washing and reimpregnation. Both underdosing – which would be a source of danger for the comrades, and overdosing – which would also be a source of danger as well as an additional economic and ecological burden, are effectively prevented.
In each drying cabinet of Electrolux Professional DC6-15 the operator can store up to 4 complete PPE combis. If only two suites have been washed, two caps are available and the cabinet can be just as efficiently started up with only 2 PPE.
“Why Electrolux Professional?”
“I offered EP’s products because, on the one hand, I could choose from the wide range of products and thus select the right machines for the Dresden Fire Department’s project. On the other hand, as a technician, I am convinced of the quality of the machines”.
Sven Engelmann, Service Partner Electrolux Professional
List of installed equipment: