The fire brigade’s hose tower in Weiskirchen stands like a quiet, reserved sentinel, with its new grey façade. The tower’s once-vibrant red colour had faded considerably and has now been thoroughly refurbished. A new shade of red was ruled out as it has poor lightfastness, and rapid fading needed to be prevented. A grey shade has been chosen to ensure long-term durability. The timing was ideal, as the scaffolding erected by Fachdienst 7 to install the new digital siren on the tower’s roof could be put to further use. It was also necessary to re-waterproof the flat roof, including replacing the guttering, and to ensure the new siren mast was properly connected to the waterproofing. As part of routine building maintenance, the damaged roof tiles above the vehicle hall were also replaced. Work then moved on to the tower’s façade – it was first given a deep clean and hosed down from top to bottom with high-pressure water. Before painting could begin, important repair work had to be carried out on the plaster and mortar, which had partially come away. The paint buckets had to be hauled up to the lofty heights – the tower is, after all, 16.40 metres high – and then the work began. Two coats on each side amounted to around 440 square metres of painting using a standard roller. The remarkable thing about this was that just one council colleague carried out the entire transformation. Szilveszter Barabas is an all-rounder who is deployed on various tasks in and around the council’s properties. For example, he also carried out renovation work on the new Europa Foyer in the town hall, sprucing it up both in terms of colour and structure. “I enjoy doing this and am delighted when my work brings people joy,” emphasises the consummate craftsman. Next on the agenda is the replacement of the dilapidated slatted structures in the upper openings of the fire station tower, which have also been significantly affected by the ravages of time. Here, Frank Bracharz, another specialist from the technical building management department, is stepping in. The qualified joiner is rebuilding the slatted structures piece by piece to ensure they fit perfectly. Ingo Förster, who is responsible for coordinating the work of his two colleagues, particularly values their technical expertise. This enables them to respond quickly and effectively to specific situations. Let’s turn our attention back to the tower in Weiskirchen: naturally, the emergency number 112 must not be overlooked. This now, of course, shines in signal red. The coordination of all the measures took place in close consultation with the management of the Fire Service’s administrative office.
