10:00 p.m.: A factory explodes and four people are buried under the rubble. Eight young people from #Erlangen and Ansbach have to get to the injured and rescue them on their own. They can only use what they have with them as tools: two trucks filled with 5 tons of heavy equipment each.
This is scenario 3 of the THW district youth exercise in Middle Franconia. Some of the young people have been training with the equipment for years and know how to use it. The exercise is a so-called "sharp exercise", i.e. adults are not allowed to intervene or give hints.
We were guests at the large-scale exercise at Brombachsee and were able to watch the THW youth in Erlangen and Ansbach at work.
If you are interested in the THW-Jugend Erlangen, you can find more information here: www.thw-jugend-erlangen.de/
Incidentally, #THW stands for "Technisches Hilfswerk" (German Federal Agency For Technical Relief) and is responsible for civil protection in Germany. Kind of like the fire department, only in blue ;)