Mountain Rescue Service In Germany

At the beginning of the last century, leisure activities in the German Alpine region and the low mountain ranges increased rapidly. Since its foundation 1920, the Mountain Rescue Service in Germany (Bergwacht) has been providing nature conservation and rescue services off the road in rough mountain terrain. In these regions, trauma-related emergencies and deaths predominate over medical emergencies. The development of new sports has also influenced the evolution of rescue techniques and equipment. Rescue helicopters with winches enable the fast supply of rescue technicians and qualified mountain rescue emergency physicians as well as rapid medevac of patients. Despite rescue helicopters, ground-based rescue procedures must continue to be trained by the rescue service to deliver medical care even in adverse conditions. State-of-the-art training and education facilities make it possible to train and educate the mountain rescue assistants according to the situation. With more than 13000 volunteer members, the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service, the Black Forest Mountain Rescue Service and the Mountain Rescue Service in the German Red Cross, have proved to be an integral part of pre-clinical emergency rescue in rough terrain for 100 years providing emergency medical services for all kinds of casualties in all mountain areas in the country.