The team from the Hannover fire brigade brings joy to sick children with a ‘rescue at height’.
Big applause for the great advent campaign by the mountain rescuers.
Besides Santa Claus, there were other heroic figures present, such as Superman.
It's hard to believe, but on 6 December, Santa Claus himself descended from the roof of the children's hospital at Hannover Medical School (MHH). Dressed in a red coat and cap, the bearded man sat on a sled decorated with lights and waved happily to the children. The Christmas event was the idea of the Hannover fire brigade. Twenty-one firefighters were on hand on St. Nicholas Day to perform a staged high-altitude rescue on ropes to bring joy to sick children, their families and the hospital staff.
St. Nicholas brings more heroes
No sooner had Santa Claus and his vehicle touched the ground than more heroes arrived. Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Ms Marvel rappelled down, sometimes in an acrobatic manner, well secured by their colleagues on the roof. The Christmas event was well received by the young and old spectators in the courtyard, on the balconies and behind the windows of the patient rooms. They marvelled and applauded.
The operation was also a training exercise
The pre-Christmas operation looked relaxed, but it had been well prepared by the Hanover fire brigade. During two training days, the high-altitude rescuers had adapted the rope structures to the local situation, explored viable attachment points and possible danger spots. ‘The operation on St. Nicholas Day was mainly intended as a surprise for the children,’ explains Benjamin Pawlak, press officer at the Hanover fire brigade. ‘However, the abseiling techniques were based on real-life scenarios, so this activity also had a training effect.’ In an emergency, high-altitude rescue is always needed when operations are carried out at height or depth and rope support is required – for example, when rescuing people from roofs.
The Christmas campaign was a nationwide initiative involving height rescue groups throughout Germany. In 2022, around 40 groups took part to surprise children in hospitals. The Hanover fire brigade took part for the first time this year.
Text: Tina Götting