INTERSCHUTZ 2020. With an array of rescue and emergency vehicles, medical equipment and solutions for data management, including live demonstrations of products and techniques, the companies and organizations taking part in INTERSCHUTZ 2020 will showcase the entire range of innovative technology, equipment and concepts employed by modern rescue and civil defence teams.

INTERSCHUTZ is dedicated to the lead theme “Teams, Tactics, Technology – Connecting Protection and Rescue”.

Hannover, Germany. New technology and strategies are urgently required if rescue services are to meet the enormous challenges they encounter in the modern world. Demographic change, the need for well-trained specialist personnel and responding to major incidents and disasters are just some of the keynote themes that demand answers. At INTERSCHUTZ 2020manufacturers, suppliers, rescue services and training institutes will present their solutions and ideas for future-fit rescue services. At the same time, INTERSCHUTZ also serves as a platform for a professional exchange of know-how within this sector. Consequently, the visiting public includes emergency physicians, emergency paramedics, paramedics, medical technicians and first responders from every kind of rescue/emergency service, as well as decision-makers in local government, medical insurance companies and providers of funds and services. “INTERSCHUTZ is a hub which addresses all the topical issues affecting the entire spectrum of rescue services, both for domestic deployment and internationally”, declares Martin Folkerts, Project Director of INTERSCHUTZ at Deutsche Messe. “One of the big bonus points of INTERSCHUTZ is that every sector in the field of security, safety and rescue services is represented at one convenient time and place. It is impossible to overstate just how important networking and communication between fire and civil protection services are to the development of rescue services that are future-proof and fit for purpose. In the final analysis, the players responding in day-to-day operations and those responding to major incidents and disasters all have to work closely together.”Hall 26 will provide a central hub for the presentation of the rescue services at INTERSCHUTZ 2020. Offering a display space of more than 21,000 square meters, this venue provides visitors with a clear overview of manufacturers, suppliers and special themes. The hall is a magnet for any professional seeking information on rescue aids, transport, data management, equipment, disinfection equipment, medical equipment, tools/equipment for rescuing accident victims or information on training courses for the rescue services. The key topics of water rescue and high-angle and high rescue operations form the focus of displays in halls 17 and 16.”Connectivity and digitization are issues that have long occupied emergency and rescue services”, says Andreas Ploeger, director of the ambulance and rescue vehicle manufacturer Wietmarscher Ambulanz- und Sonderfahrzeug GmbH (WAS). “Although many countries are ahead of Germany in this respect, INTERSCHUTZ should get things moving. As far as WAS is concerned, this trade fair is something of an international benchmark.”This is a view shared by Binz Ambulance- und Umwelttechnik GmbH, whose spokesperson, Matthias Quickert, deputy head of distribution and head of the special vehicles and series production segment of Binz operations, reported: INTERSCHUTZ 2020 is an important national and international showcase, where our company presents its key products. One focal point is weight optimization in vehicle interiors for ambulances and rescue vehicles, as well as in other BOS emergency vehicles for which weight is a key factor, but naturally we also focus on the intelligent networking of voltage and power supply systems in vehicle modifications and data acquisition and presentation for diverse vehicles and vehicle modifications.”

In addition to WAS and Binz, several other exhibitors have already announced their intention to exhibit in 2020, including C. Miesen, GSF Sonderfahrzeugbau, Gruau, Ferno, Weinmann Emergency, X-Cen-Tek, Holmatro, Lukas, Weber-Hydraulik, Dönges and Stihl.

While exhibitors from industry are clearly important to INTERSCHUTZ, great value is also placed on the participation of professional service providers, i.e. those organizations whose teams of professionals and volunteers deliver the emergency and rescue services. Their ranks include the German Red Cross (DRK), the national branch of the International Red Cross which operates in Germany and in voluntary operations assisting the German authorities in humanitarian missions. “For us it is self-evident that we should take part in INTERSCHUTZ as an exhibitor in 2020, but it is also very exciting,” explains Dr. Ralf Selbach, chairman of the board of the DRK Association in Lower Saxony. In the federal state of Lower Saxony, alone, the DRK employs around 3,500 in the rescue services, with a further 7,000 or more volunteers on standby. “The lead theme of connectivity and digitization is a very topical aspect of the work of the Red Cross – for instance, it is vital in communication in disasters and major incidents, or in the training of rescue service personnel,” says Dr. Selbach. “This is something that we want to convey to the visitors to our trade fair stand in a tangible and practical fashion. We also want to inform them about the opportunities for working on a professional or voluntary basis in health-related services such as rescue and emergency, civil protection and disaster protection and relief.”

Likewise, INTERSCHUTZ is an important event in the calendar of the Johanniter Unfall Hilfe (German Order of St John) as Hannes Wendler , the Director of the organization in Lower Saxony and Bremen, is keen to explain: “INTERSCHUTZ not only affords an excellent overview of this sector, including all the latest developments – as a nationwide provider of rescue services and an established partner in general public services it also provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate our consistent efforts to upgrade and improve our services in line with current trends and standards.” The Johanniter Unfall Hilfe at INTERSCHUTZ will not only place the focus on connectivity between teams and technology – it also aims to reach younger visitors and address personnel recruitment. The Akkon University in Berlin and the Johanniter Academy are two training facilities at which the Johanniter staff educate and train highly qualified personnel for the rescue and emergency services. “Our training measures hinge on modern technology and innovative methods in order to prepare the participants as well as possible for the kind of challenges that rescue teams meet today,” adds Wendler. “At INTERSCHUTZ we want to show visitors, especially young visitors, that we are a competent, modern and progressive employer – whether as a provider of terrestrial rescue services or in air rescue services and offshore rescue operations.”

The exhibits and information offered at the individual stands at INTERSCHUTZ are complemented by an impressive supporting program rich in opportunities for discussion, knowledge transfer, learning and for making valuable new contacts. Demonstrations, activities and examples of practical applications are staged throughout the whole trade fair on the open-air site. Another daily highlight will be the Holmatro Extrication Challenge with rescue teams from all over the world competing against one another in exciting simulated scenarios in which they demonstrate their skills in extricating road-traffic accident victims from vehicles.

No doubt, the scene will be less intense, but equally interesting, at the meeting of the rescue services, which is being organized mainly by the German Fire Protection Association (vfdb). This event will feature talks and panel discussions on current issues and challenges. One of many interesting topics will be the comparison of European emergency and rescue services. Directly adjacent to this event various rescue services’ training schools will stage diverse activities simulating the kind of operations that rescue teams have to face today and showing ways of tackling future scenarios and challenges. Another key element of the supporting program is the 22nd Hannover Emergency Medicine Symposium from 19-20 June, organized by the Johanniter Academy of Lower Saxony/Bremen in collaboration with the Medical University of Hannover. The symposium is held over two days, thus giving participants the opportunity to benefit from both the high-caliber theoretical content of this event and the experience of the leading world fair INTERSCHUTZ. The Johanniter Unfall Hilfe also organizes the Hans-Dietrich Genscher Prize and the Johanniter Junior Prize. Both awards are traditionally presented in Hannover to mark the achievements of courageous helpers. In 2020, the award ceremony will take place on the Wednesday of INTERSCHUTZ. The Hans-Dietrich Genscher Prize is awarded to adults – for example, an emergency physician or some other rescue or emergency worker – for their exceptional achievements in a rescue situation. The winner could be a professional or a volunteer layperson. The Johanniter Juniors’ Prize is awarded to young people up to the age of 18 who have shown an exceptional level of commitment by providing first aid and/or other services in emergency situations.

Hannover is, of course, also the place where German politicians and administrators responsible for the rescue services meet. Thus, on 16 and 17 June the German Federal States’ Committee for the Emergency and Rescue Services will convene at INTERSCHUTZ. The participants will include the representatives responsible for the emergency and rescue services in the various German states, as well as representatives from the German Federal Ministries of Internal Affairs, Health and Defense, representatives of the German police air units, the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BAST) and the major local authority associations from across Germany.