The Rommerz, Hattenhof, Hauswurz, Flieden, Rückers, Eichenzell, Rothemann, Löschenrod and Mittelkalbach fire departments are also involved, as are the fire protection supervision, the emergency response service, the information and communication group, the technical operations management management group and the Fulda district rescue service operations management.

The rescue service is also on site with two emergency medical vehicles and four ambulances, together with the Petersberg motorway police and Autobahn GmbH, and the Fulda control center and the Eschwege tunnel control center are also involved in the large-scale exercise in the tunnel in Neuhof on Saturday morning.

The picture that emerges in the west tunnel seems confusing at first glance: emergency services are running around in the dimly lit tube, bringing in heavy equipment to free trapped people from their vehicles. Some of the victims' actors, made up with fake blood, are sitting in the wreckage. They appear disoriented and are hardly or not at all responsive. A challenging, stressful situation for the emergency services.

Under the eyes of observers, including District Administrator Bernd Woide, First Alderman Frederik Schmitt, the mayors of Neuhof, Heiko Stolz, von Flieden, Christopher Gärtner, von Eichenzell, Johannes Rothmund (all CDU) and von Kalbach, Mark Bagus (independent), the injured are given medical care and further transport to surrounding hospitals is simulated.

Goal: Identify and resolve weak points

District fire inspector Adrian Vogler and Steffen Hohmann from emergency response are also not only closely but also critically monitoring the situation during the large-scale exercise in the Neuhof tunnel. The aim of the exercise, says Vogler, is not only to practice coordination and communication, but also to identify and correct weak points.

The heads of the individual sections deal with errors, which inevitably happen when so many people have to work in a coordinated manner under time pressure and under difficult conditions, in a transparent manner. “A fire-fighting team initially went in the wrong direction – classic right-left weakness,” one of them reported during the first brief briefing afterwards.

The radio connection also doesn't always work smoothly on this day. Overall, those responsible are ultimately satisfied. “From the current perspective, it worked well today,” reports Sebastian Waider from the security department. “We will evaluate the details in the next few days and weeks.”

At the end of the approximately three-hour exercise, the emergency services are visibly exhausted. That's why it's time to grab some food at the fire station in Neuhof. For dessert there is a compliment from the district administrator: “Thank you all for being there today. That is not something to be taken for granted.” Julia Rös, head of the Fulda branch at Autobahn GmbH, also expressed appreciation: “Today was a challenging scenario. Such exercises are infinitely valuable in an emergency. A very big thank you to all of you!”