American Shocked by Wide Variety of Emergency Vehicles in Germany

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

Thank you for reviewing my video :) Was very cool to see what you think about the EMS units over here. I tried to provide the best overview, showing all kinds of different EMS units from as many different parts of the country as possible. For those which are interested: I made similar compilations on German fire trucks, German police cars, and also shorter videos on European fire trucks / ambulances / police cars Some info on the clips: 1. concerning the ems units with car company and other logos on the side: large industries run their own industrial fire department which often run some ambulances, while some other industries also have their own industrial EMS provider 2. the ambulance at 5:00, that's the private EMS provider where I did my training. The Ambulance was designed by both the junior and senior boss of the company and is the only one in the entire country which has a crew cab 3. the one at 6:38 is an ambulance made for the volunteer units attending funfair and beer festivals in the Free State of Bavaria; The larger festivals have on-site stations and that's where the ambulance will be based at; They used to make a new color scheme each year. The Segways at 11:10 are used on the very same festivals 4. yes, the 1976 Dodge W200 at 7:30 is operated by a private EMS provider which got the ambulance from the US Army spare vehicle fleet back in 1991 5. the ambulance is like the large heavy duty van from Mercedes; One was in service at an EMS provider in northern Germany and then was kept as ambulance at a volunteer division down in the south 6. at 10:13 yes it's an X3, and yes it's on both the sidewalk and bike lane 7. at 13:23 that's a Ford Focus C-Max used at emergency doctor car of a water rescue division 8 at 13:31 these color schemes are designed by BMW's emergency vehicle division. They also made color schemes for various police division, fire departments etc

[@martind4721]

to the top!

[@martind4721]

also maybe to the confusion on the BMW/Audi logo on the ambulances around 4:40: those are ambulances from the factory fire departments of those brands if you have a large chemical/industrial factory with reasonable amount of hazard potential, you need to have a full time fire station there too. Usually those are reserved for factory emergencies, but if all the ambulances around are busy, you can also call them to calls outside the company. thats why near munich, you might see MAN/MTU Ambulance, as well as BMW, TUM as seen in 5:53 (Technical university of Munich, they have a nuclear reactor and chemical department) or Audi in Ingolstadt, and many other corporations around germany!

[@marcbeebee6969]

Thank you

[@twowheelvalle]

Jetzt weiß ich alles. Danke! 😂

[@IWrocker]

Thank You! 🎉 You’re knowledge on this is refreshing, and your videos are top notch 😎

[@NotfallsRene]

German EMS Doctor here. The busses are mostly ambulances for mass casualty incidents. They are outfitted with some full scale MICU beds, a few intermediate care beds and some seats for the minimally injured. We even have some busses here which are used for normal bus lines but can be called into action by the regional command center. They then get rid of the regular passengers ASAP and go code 3.

[@KrokLP]

In Österreich haben Feuerwehren keine eigenen Rettungswägen, deshalb haben Rettungsdienste auch ihre eigenen Kommandobusse. Gibt es in Deutschland z.B. vom Roten Kreuz eigene Kommandobusse?

[@lowrangemaniac5326]

So we can say that those emergency buses are like mini hospitals? I thought that they was like a command center or stuff like that. It's pretty neat!

[@KrokLP]

@@lowrangemaniac5326 There's both. And the medical busses are mostly ICUs. They can be used to transport ICU patients or during disasters to provide intensive care on site.

[@fritzoo8194]

@@KrokLP Der MAN bei 11:48 sieht stark nach einem ELW2 (Einsatzleitwagen 2) vom ASB aus.

[@lowrangemaniac5326]

@@KrokLP cool! I've never seen one of them there in Italy, except for a semi truck with a trailer that's used from firefighters in cases of biological or nuclear hazards: the trailer expands and become a command station and a laboratory for analysis at same time

[@DSP16569]

Bigger factories of bigger companies sometimes have their own emergency units. When a accident happens at the factory they can transport the victims fast to the next hospital.

[@Bioshyn]

yep, guess that's why there is that AUdi logo on that ambulance with an Ingolstadt number plate (where the main Audi factory is)

[@userhessenone1469]

@@Bioshyn Yes. Its common in the VW AG atleast, that emergency vehicles are registered where the main factory is. Audi has IN for Ingolstadt, VW has WOB for Wolfsburg etc.)

[@Wofl89]

Not just sometimes, they have to if they reach a certain size. But each region has different regulations.

[@sascha8948]

German Paramedic here. I can give you a live tour across our station, show you our emergency vehicles and explain something. We have more than ten different vehicles from emergency medical services to command vehicles, big trucks and much more.

[@IWrocker]

That would be amazing 🎉 Lots of respect for You and fellow paramedics/emergency workers

[@sascha8948]

@@IWrocker I send you a DM on instagram 🚑

[@helfgott1]

danke für deinen dienst 👍👍😊😊

[@karstenvagt1075]

Dear Ian! I really like your content. to explain: The BMW and Audi ambulances belong to the factory's health & fire departments. 6:40: promotional ambulance for "Rettungsgasse" =rescue lane. The cartoons are from a German emergency physician with the pseudonyme "Olaf" The Dodge was run by a private ambulance service in the city of Emden (in my area in north western Germany) that does no longer exist as an ambulance service. 8:35 Mercedes Vario, a truck series that ended up in 2013. Buses are common as disaster ambulances or for operations management in disasters. 14:44 was an ambulance run by Ackermann Ambulanz also in my area. This service also doesnt't provide emergency services any longer. So you have seen F.D.s, Ambulances from the Red Cross, Samaritans, St. John's ambulance and Maltesians. One very big player in Germany is missing: the THW (Technisches Hilfswerk=technical aid force), these are volunteers that run badass federal run technical supplies in disasters. Maybe you try this video out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jInVoZ2PoseqbJI

[@vophatechnicus]

RKSH still offers ambulance services. The seen dodge just like their Ford F350 are used for disaster protection (Katastrophenschutz) as you can read on their website.

[@TheOrgonaut]

damn mercedes Vario as a camper 😍

[@tristan1234567890]

Derp (i feel stupid) you said everything i wanted to say, just better xD

[@germandude5181]

The "Vario" is actually a Mercedes-Benz 609D (so, a MB T2/Düsseldorfer). It was built in the early 90s and equipped by the Dutch company "Visser" and served with the KBA-ambulance service in Norderstedt. It was bought in the early 2000s by the Bavarian Red Cross in Regensburg and served as a volunteer-staffed ambulance up until 2018, when it was replaced by a Mercedes Sprinter that served as a regular ambulance before (Bay-RTW).

[@Hartmut-oo5ts]

@@germandude5181 Are you sure this is a 609? The engine sounds more like a 614?

[@svenbasco]

In Germany, accident victims are given initial care and stabilized at the scene. The paramedics come with the ambulance and an emergency doctor with a car/off-road vehicle or sometimes even with the rescue helicopter. The patients are only transported away when they are stable. As far as I know, in the USA no doctor usually comes to see an accident victim.

[@danielrauer5864]

stay and play (Germany) vs load and go (US)

[@janne3751]

Not particularly right. We switched to a treat and run system.

[@janne3751]

Especially for trauma victims, we are not staying for hours at the scene trying to do things we simple can't pre hospital, but rather use the golden hour of trauma.

[@nicolajaynehodson9223]

@danielrauer5864 the franco -german system has moved on somewhat from stay and play esecially in the light of the experience the UK military MERT in Iraq and Afghanistan and how UK helimed / MERIT has elements of both

[@Pseudomonasa]

Helicopter isn't particularly for accidents, it's mainly for fast and smooth transport for intensive care/ unstable patients. Although it's used as a regular emergency doctor, if there is no NEF (emergency doc car) available or takes too long to reach the patient, so it is possible that a helicopter will be dispatched for your broken ankle - the doc gives his go that you get fentanyl admistered and flies away without you if he thinks there is no need that a doc stays with you till you reach the hospital. Generally speaking the emergency doctor is just needed for legal purposes, there is no actual emergency doctor like in the US or UK, it's a 6 month course (instead of the 2-3 year period for an actual "Facharzt") if you're in a heavy car crash the emergency doctor which you'll see could be actually a gynecologist, dermatologist, opthalmologist or nuclear physician AHAHAHA XD (I have a friend who's nuclear physician and has his emergency doc license, he is like once a month in EMS service 😂 he said he just stick to the medics and says YES, his use is normally to treat cancer with radiation (including a medical physics doc who calculates dose and angle etc) or find metabolic issues (like thyroid hormone over/under production)😅

[@ticktaeck7783]

I'm not 100% sure because I'm speaking from memory, but the blue light originates from WWII, where the colour was changed to a wavelength that is harder to see from a greater distance to allow emergency calls by night without giving away city locations to British bombers. The siren is called Martinshorn, originating from the company that manufactured the original, and it later became mandatory by law for every emergency vehicle.

[@Alex-lh1dw]

Martin-Horn without s. Because the name of the company is Max B. Martin GmbH & Co.KG

[@christiankastorf4836]

Blue lights were used before the war. But you are right, the idea was that blue light "vanishes" more quickly whereas red with its longer waves travels through the atmosphere and even through clouds and fogs. I remember that some electric torches had a blue filter for that same purpose. But more decisive for the introduction of blue as a warning light for police and firefighter vehicles, then ambulances, is the fact that it cannot be mistaken. Rear lights for vehicles have used red since the invention of the steam locos in the mid 1800s. Orange (amber) and red are all around us, but blue is so unnatural that we all know it has a signal effect when we see it.

[@Afk_Kun]

I quickly checked the page of the RKSH, the Dodge W200 they are using is meant to be used for roads or non paved streets where "normal" ambulances would struggle and it can carry up to 4 patients. They also have an Ford F350 in service

[@haselmaus8054]

... and the Dodge is from 1976 and they bought it from the US Army in Germany

[@KaterChris]

Some more background info on German EMS: Responsibility for the Emergency Medical Service usually lies with the district (Kreis), similar to an American county. Larger cities are usually counties itself (kreisfrei) and they tender out the running of EMS service to the various organizations. In larger cities, it's often the city Fire Dept. also running EMS, or it can be one of the other EMS organizations like the German Red Cross (DRK=Deutsches Rotes Kreuz), St. John's Ambulance (JUH=Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe), Workers' Samaritan Foundation (ASB=Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund), German counterpart to Order of Malta Ambulance Corps (MHD=Malteser Hilfsdienst) and some private companies like Falck. In some cities where an Armed Forces Hospital is located, even the Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) is incorporated into civilian EMS, like in Berlin or Hamburg. Plus you have the already mentioned "Werksfeuerwehren", fire departments of larger companies usually in the industrial sector providing fire and EMS service on their premises and also outside of it. For example, the Ambulance at 5:47 with the blue and yellow stripes on red belongs to the Fire and EMS department of Technical University Munich at their Garching campus just outside Munich city limits.

[@magnustool]

Hello Ian. The ambulances with "BMW" and "Audi" are vehicles that are based at the relevant factories, as occupational safety must ensure rescue as quickly as possible. That's why large companies have their own ambulances and company fire departments.

[@kilianhzh]

The red one (the clip with the cement truck) is labelled TUM. Some universities also have their own ambulances

[@DerKeksDerVerdammnis]

Werksfeuerwehr 😄

[@hermannlandmeyer1004]

Different to the USA we have an other system: In addition to the paramedics (ambulances) we have the Notarzt (Emergency doctor). These doctors are normally driving with a fast station wagon, like an Audi; BMW or something else.

[@userhessenone1469]

or an SUV nowadays. BMW X5 and X3 are pretty common.

[@rome0610]

@@userhessenone1469 Here in Graz, they use a short wheel base VW Transporter to carry even more equipment.

[@Doc_Rainbow]

Nowerdays most of the time is a VW T6 or Mercedes Vito because of all the additional emergency Equippment there need to carry nowerdays

[@Happymali10]

5:50 Modern ambulances in Germany have two different sirens, they got a "city siren" and an "overland siren". The latter has more reach, but the former is more "spread out" so it goes more to the sides too. It's meant so that people in cross-streets hear the ambulance better in town, while out in the countryside you hear it sooner when you're up ahead.

[@Atilla2000]

Hi I’m from Germany…Our new ones are coverd in QR codes…. So if ppl try take pictures from accidents, the QR code opens a page to explain you to dnt do that👌🏽 I like this one a lot✌🏽

[@DGF042]

The one with the Audi logo had lots of cars with "IN ..." license plates around it. IN stands for Ingolstadt, the home of Audi. So it's most probably the company's own emergency unit.

[@userhessenone1469]

like the BMW one before

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

close, but not quite correct: Audi donated this unit to the public EMS provider, the Bavarian Red Cross chapter Ingolstadt. It's quite common for car manufacturers to donate an emergency vehicle to local EMS providers, especially fire departments. Thus you were able to see Porsche Cayenne at the Stuttgart FD, still see a Porsche Cayenne at the Leipzig FD, a BMW X3 at the Regensburg FD etc

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

​@userhessenone1469 which BMW before?

[@userhessenone1469]

@@EnjoyFirefighting the BMW branded Ambulance (RTW Rettungstransportwagen/ Rescuetransportvehicle in Germany) But that BMW branded one definitely belongs to Munich BMW Plant

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

@@userhessenone1469 well, that came quite a bit later

[@mawi4112]

german sirens are either electric or a pneumatic, in some departments when they get a new vehicle and it only has electric it sometimes mysteriously breaks and can only be replaced by pneumatic

[@axelkonsum2709]

😂

[@WooShell]

4:40 That VW ambulance is part of the Audi plant local emergency services at the Ingolstadt production facility (IN number plate), that's why it has the Audi logo on the sides.

[@wieserle]

01:13 This is a "Großraumrettungswagen" or a Ambulance-bus. An ambulance bus is used primarily for medical evacuation of mass casualty incidents. 04:38 The Audi factory has its own rescue station and therefore its own rescue vehicles. Many large companies, for example, also have their own factory fire department. But they also help out outside the company.

[@userhessenone1469]

Yes, and the BMW branded before also is an in-factory one

[@levin8235]

8:14 The Dodge is normally a reserve Vehicle. In the clip it was on its way to a MANV Training Excercise in a VW Plant. MANV means Mass Casualty Event.

[@Naanhanyrazzu]

The G-Klass (or G Wagon) was very popular in rescue services, fire departments and customs in the 90s and 2000s, as the vehicles were used by the Bundeswehr (German Defense Forces) under the name "Wolf". This meant that Mercedes was "obliged" to keep a certain contingent of spare parts in stock, making maintenance/repairs very fast and reliable. In addition, the old G's were almost impossible to break. Since the Bundeswehr switched more and more to the Mowag Eagle, beginning at the end of the 2000s, the G-Classes have continued to disappear from the authorities, as they have slowly reached the end of their service life and are being decommissioned.

[@xasanth6318]

the reason for the siren is, that it sounds different depending on the angle where it's comming from - so easier to identify

[@JS-1983]

That ambulance at 9:00 is Mercedes Benz Vario (or its predeccessor version T2 with multiple different model numbers)

[@axelk4921]

@8:55 - 9:00 : It´s a Mercedes "VARIO" built as a bus but with a truck chassis that can weigh a maximum of around 17,000 pounds. the "big brother" of the Mercedes "809" bus, comparable to the Ford "F" series

[@RoniTosun]

Glaube das ist ein T2 und kein Vario :D

[@petebeatminister]

That ambulance at 4:05 , that has written BMW München on its side, is not a BMW vehicle. Its probably a vehicle from the BMW factory fire brigade in Munich. The really big companies have their own professional fire brigade units, ready standing by inside the factory compound. In case of a emergency they dont want to wait for the public fire fighters to come. And they have emergency medical services, too, of course. The yellow ambulance at 9:15, that you couldn't identify, is a old model Mercedes van, of the kind they made before the Sprinters came out. They didn't have a name back then, but a designation like 406 (standing for 4 tons, 60bhp) for example. All Mercedes trucks had designations like that, according to their size. The German postal service had the 406 to deliver parcels in the 60s and 70s, and I bought a old clapped out one from them in the early 80s. It was actually great fun to drive, even if it was slow and finding a parking space wasn't easy.

[@klarasee806]

I am not much into cars, and when I‘m asked what car I drive, I usually reply „Grey, four wheels“. But this video was really interesting and so relaxing! I felt like a child again, looking at all the lights, being stunned by the different shapes and unusual types of vehicles (never seen a golf cart, Segway or Dodge as emergency vehicle in Germany, but obviously they exist 😄) while listening to your soothing voice… what a great way to start into the weekend! Thank you! Oh, now that I think about it, although I am not into cars, I actually do have a favorite ambulance vehicle 😅 It‘s a Unimog (huge Mercedes off-roader). I think there was one in this video, but I am not 100% sure. I once had the chance to see it "in real life", working its way through a quite rocky coastal land strip, and it was really impressive to see, even for me.

[@Gaehhn]

You don't have to be into cars to like Unimogs. They are just naturally universally impressive and amazing pieces of technology that leave you in awe.

[@Saiwanngo]

I'm not 100% sure if that's what the buses in the video are. But these buses can practically be rolling intensive care units where, depending on the equipment, they can transport 4 or more critical patients. These BMWs are emergency medical vehicles with which emergency doctors are brought to patients with potential life-threatening conditions for on-site initial care

[@MirkoC407]

Indeed, the G Wagon was introduced in the 1970es as a heavy 4x4 troop vehicle for the Bundeswehr, designated "Wolf" (i.e. wulf) and set above the light Volkswagen Iltis (polecat) which was more or less the grandchild of the Wehrmacht Kübelwagen. The G Wagon was its civil version, and being the only German offroad car, the VW 181 (The Thing) was rear wheel drive only and very spartan. So the G Wagon was popular with companies and offices needing to leave paved roads for work, like forestal office, water sourcing, energy grid operations. It would take decades and an SUV boom to become a lifestyle vehicle. 8:24 That is a Mercedes Vario, i.e. a very large chassis. The Vario was placed above the Sprinter in the 5 to 7.5 ton GVW class. So it had accordingly large engines, and strange ones as well. All were diesels, either it was a 2.9 litre L5 or a 4.2 litre L4. No surprise they sound mean. L5 always do (I love them) and an L4 with more than 1 litre per cylinder will also. For a long time there were only two minivans sold officially in Europe, Renault Espace and Chrysler Voyager (relabled from the Plymouth and not Dodge I think). Only in the 90es VW, Ford, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen and Mercedes would join. 13:18 was a Ford C-Max. A Focus based minivan.

[@vophatechnicus]

The G-class at 2:27 is a privatley owned and operated "Notarzteinsatzfahrzeug" (Dr. Duschner from Waidhaus in the northeast of bavaria). Since this year they use a Mercedes Benz Vito.

[@MissYijare]

The one at 6:44 is in a special livery. the text on it says "a rescue lane saves lives" - a fundermental thing that so many motorists seem to forget on the autobahn.

[@SoIacom]

The car companies on the side are easily explained. Those are part of the "Werksfeuerwehr" -> Factory Fire Dept. They are there so in case an accident happens on site, there are short response times to minimize potential damages. BMW has it, Audo has it, VW has it, and many other companies too.

[@marcovonfrieling8762]

Mercedes has them as well. And I can confirm from their factory in Bremen (because my father worked there) that "external" rescue vehicles, fire trucks etc. cannot easily enter the factory area without a quick security check at the gate. That cost time as well as driving there, plus it can be really difficult to find the location especially inside the buildings. Externals would need guidance from the security staff there, while the factory fire department knows the area by heart, or at least how the orientation systems there work.

[@MyroTheFox]

@@marcovonfrieling8762 i work for Mercedes in Stuttgart and trust me,if there is need for external help(ambulance,firefighters/police) there is no security check on the gates for them,usually Werkschutz is waiting for them and guides to the accident

[@marcovonfrieling8762]

@@MyroTheFox in emergencies probably not, but still they would take longer than the internal ones even if they are close by, so the internal ones are always dispatched first if possible.

[@florianj6490]

BMW or Audi is written on the emergency vehicles, because every large plant here has its own fire brigade and emergency call center. Accordingly, these were emergency vehicles from the BMW and Audi plant fire departments. I myself work in the second largest steel mills in Germany (Salzgitter AG) and we also have our own factory fire brigade.

[@hansweith4947]

Hi Ian, the smaller "cars" are used by the doctors to fly to the accident while the ambulance is running seperately. The bigger Van as well is a Mercedes.

[@FentionX]

And for first responders (excluesively for vital threats, smaller cars are often faster and easier to navigate through traffic), as well as transporting blood/transplant organs. If you count it also in: Depending on the situation and from 3 and 10 patients on, additional people come with smaller cars (these organize the paramedics and doctors, so these can focus on the individual patients).

[@JS-1983]

Yes, that MC Drive is MC Donalds' drive thru, we have MC Drive In Finland too 😄

[@jankrusat2150]

The G-Wagon at 2:57 is an emergency doctor ("Notarzt") vehicle. G-wagons are also being used by the German military, in a more rugged version called "Wolf". The BMW ambulance probably belongs to BMW's own fire brigade (in Germany big factories often have their own emergency responders).

[@biloaffe]

Private rescue vehicles used to have American sirens, but these were later banned because they were not as recognizable as the siren. Martinshorn is named after the inventor of this siren "B.Martin".

[@PropperNaughtyGeezer]

During the "Cold War" until the 90s, city buses were all equipped with uniform parts. Windshields, side windows, engines, gearboxes, seats, handrails, whether MAN or Mercedes, fit. The engines from MAN and Mercedes were almost identical. From the outside you could only tell the difference on the valve cover. MAN were gray and Mercedes were green. Every city bus could be converted in a very shortest time for disaster relief, as a hospital, ambulance or something similar.

[@tobias4557]

The Livery at 6:40 is a Special Rescue for The Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing, Germany (a little smaler as the Oktoberfest) it is equipped like a normal one, but it serves during the time as additional Rescue Truck to the regular ones. During the working shifts its located direct to a Medic Station on the Areal. I served as medic on this Rescue Truck ( in German RTW - Rettungstransportwagen) i loved it. Nowadays we have only the Classic Rescue Trucks there.

[@alexanderkupke920]

Yes, that was an actual G wagon. Those and others are sometimes used in areas where emergency doctors have to go into areas not easily accessible by regular road. Those cars, the smaller Mercedes vans or the ones based on regular station wagon models most times have "Notarzt" written on them. For those who did not know already, emergency services in Germany are organized different from the US (or if you want most other places). Although "Rettungssanitäter" or what in the US would be an EMS or Paramedic are trained to do a lot of stuff, most times they are only allowed in rare cases with permission from an actual doctor. On the other hand, for serious incidents we send out a "Notarzt" which means emergency doctor or EMS doctor as well. Years ago they used to drive themselves, these days they got a trained EMS as a driver. They are most times located at a hospital, sometimes they may stay at an emergency services station. Most ambulances are actually based on Mercedes Sprinter Vans. But you will find VW Crafter (which actually is the same as the Sprinter, just a different engine), Iveco Daily, MAN or Renault vans. Sometimes even the larger (and often older) Mercedes L series vans can be found.

[@stephenhawkingsbeautywheel9080]

Looking at the qualification; a Rettungssanitäter would be an EMT and the Notfallsanitäter would be a paramedic.

[@DaGuys470]

9:47 This is actually a very special unit called Stemo. These are used to aid stroke patients. They have a doctor and medication on board as far as I know, so they can immediately start dissolving whatever is blocking the flow of blood. Usually they'll have to stabilize the patient and take them to the ER, in those things they essentially have a mini treatment facility, so they could start treating the patient anywhere in town. For a stroke this is obviously great as time is of essence.

[@Doc_Rainbow]

But still these units are pretty useless in Berlin... when the next Hospital is like 4 minutes away... In rural areas like Brandenburg or Bavaria These units would make sence but not in a big city with like 30 Hospitals...

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

​@Doc_Rainbow in rural areas they'd have very long distances to cover responding to a call and thus wouldn't make sense there. Can't have them at every station obviously

[@KaterChris]

And it's got a mobile CT scanner on board, hence the need to use a truck chassis for the bigger body. Berlin Fire Dept. currently has 3 of these stationed at strategic locations in the city.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

@@KaterChris technically that's not a reason that you'd absolutely need a truck chassis, just gives more space to move around and work. There are CCT scan ambulances based on a way more compact chassis elsewhere

[@Doc_Rainbow]

​@@EnjoyFirefighting yes but in Rural Areas you can use them because Hospitals are far away, its for Strokes, which are Time Critical, the Reason to use them in a City isnt very smart... i mean why you bring the Stroke Unit to a Patient when the Next Hospital is 300 Meter Away... the Price for these units is way to high for an area which got so many Hospitals, when the Hospital is 30 Km away, these Units could be Life Changers though. :)

[@loadingninja3486]

If you want to see some really unusual emergency vehicles, you should look for the THW (Volunteer emergency services that can do anything from detonating bridges and taking down buildings to building bridges and pumping empty entire rivers) or the Katastrophenschutz (large volunteer groups with EMS training that can put up an emergency treatment center out of the material they carry along, among other things). There you don't just get different models of cars doing the same job, but also some very unusual vehicles that you don't see in normal EMS

[@martinwaas2201]

I don't know if anyone has already pointed this out, but the "big meanies" (around 9:05 in the video) you were so curious about are old ambulances. Mostly Mercedes base, manual 5-speed transmission, diesel without turbos. Today they are used by the Red Cross or other voluntary aid organizations. I also love them because they are robust and don't have the turbo cold start problem that usually ends in an engine repair. I hope we can hold on to them for a long time to come.

[@alwynemcintyre2184]

In Australia, we a lot different cement truck types here. Ranging from mini mixer trucks, American and European dual steer trucks, longer trucks with larger mixing drums and semi cement mixers.

[@labschi]

The blue painted ambulance was painted especially for the Gäubodenvolksfest (a fair) near Munich. The writing says "Rettungsgasse rettet Leben" meaning "Rescue lane save lives". The normal livery of the Red Cross here is white and red or yellow and orange like the other ambulance vehicles in the video :)

[@JackFrost-The-Ice-Boy]

We do have those kinds of busses here in the US! Usually for large/serious incidents. You'll sometimes see fire department ones as rehab vehicles for fire fighters.

[@IWrocker]

Didn’t know that! Cool 🎉😎

[@peterpan4038]

Exactly. And i'm pretty sure organisations like FEMA have their own heavy duty trucks and buses for large scale emergencies. At the end of the day vehicles are tools as well, you use the right one for the job.

[@FlorianNuernberg]

This Ambulances with BMW and AUDI on their sides are part of the car-company rescue system. BMW in munich hast their own ambulances and so does Audi in Ingolstadt.

[@RustyDust101]

There's a distinction between Notarzt, Ambulanz, and Krankentransport. The Notarzt/ emergency doctors are first repliers to any medical situation, be it accident or illness. They usually have immediate diagnostic and first aid equipment on board, but usually are not equipped to carry injured persons. They are usually very well equipped for their role of immediate emergency stabilization. The Ambulanz/ambulance are the vans or extended trucks with one or two gurneys on board plus more advanced mobile treatment to improve the situation that the emergency doctors has handed over to them. That's why they have two different styles of vehicles. One with the Notarzt is to allow the first emergency responders to stay on scene to triage and further assist with multiple injuries; whereas ambulances carry the injured and hopefully stabilized patients to hospitals while the Notarzt remains until all injured are taken care of. The final is the Krankentransport, the patient transport. Many of these look like regular ambulances but are more for non-critical transportation. Mind you, many of them can and DO assist with critical injuries as well, especially in large numbers of patients. Many of them only have more basic equipment vs the full on ambulances for emergency rescue. Their equipment is to give basic stabilization and transportation services for patients that are in less critical condition. The fire brigades often (not always) have their own ambulances not affiliated with any of the medical responder service providers such as RKSH, ASB, Johanniter, Malteser, etc. That's why you sometimes see the classic red fire brigade vehicles interspersed with ambulance style vehicles in case the fire brigade (which is a more generalized emergency service in Germany, not only fires but flooding, major car accidents with bent chassis, tree or avalanche blockages, etc) needs such services directly on site. The THW (Technisches Hilfswerk) is one huge organization of catastrophe or major accident responders with highly specialized technical equipment, like hydraulic shears and spreaders, mobile pumping stations, sand bag filling stations, the whole gammut of catastrophe services. While they aren't military, their organization is very well ordered and formalized. They are incredibly well equipped, and probably have the largest mobile pumping unit capacity in the world. They could have drained New Orleans and surroundings after hurricane Katrina within a week if all their pumps had been delivered to the States. Via the ADAC (the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobile Club, the German equivalent of the AAA) there is a nation-wide coverage of emergency helicopters that are available for fast rescue and transport to specialized hospitals. It is the duty of the local Notarzt to call in a helicopter in case it is needed to save a patient's life. Again, like ANY medical transport that is NECESSARY, anyone insured in Germany is completely covered by health insurance, no matter which mode is needed and used. You won't see a bill for that if you are in statutory health insurance. As an owner of private health insurance you will first see the bill, but then will forward it to your insurance provider who will then cover it.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

"The Notarzt/ emergency doctors are first repliers to any medical situation, be it accident or illness" absolutely NOT! Also they don't carry only first aid equipment ... it's rather the very opposite, they carry along the widest range and more specialized equipment.

[@peterdresel2187]

It is an ex-military ambulance converted to civilian service!! The Big van is a Mercedes Benz van that was never sent to the US

[@thorstenzahn6394]

There are 3 main differences in these Big Busses, Number one is to evacuate in Dangerous Situations like WW2 Bomb finds in the Cities, then there are Busses build just like a Big Ambulance with maybe 5 to 10 Beds for Patients maybe to use at Train exidents or something like that and the third would be to use as an Big Office to coordinate in Big Emergancy cases. At around 9:00 the vehicle you see at night and later at daylight is "Mercedes Benz T2 Vario"

[@rome0610]

Well, can't believe the "Number one is to evacuate in Dangerous Situations like WW2 Bomb finds". No organization would maintain a bus just for such rather rare occasion. Here the local public transportation is obligated to service such requests.

[@Doc_Rainbow]

​​@@rome0610you clearly have no idea... i am a Paramedic, we have these Busses for mass evacuations... in düsseldorf we had 3 of them now 2, in Köln are 2 and like 20 Smaller ones with 9 seats, allmost every Berufsfeuerwehr in NRW got at least on of these Busses, most of the time there get dispatched for house fires so the Home owners can sit in a warm area, and can transported to a hotel or emergency shelter if needed, Also there can be used at big fires to Change the Firmen, because all the engines are allready at the scene, there bring the dayshift and Transport the nightshift back to the Station Also bomb finds arent that uncommon...in Düsseldorf allone we got like 2 of these a year...

[@rome0610]

@@Doc_Rainbow Thanks for your kind words ("you have no idea") and I have to congratulate you to live in paradise where it's possible to maintain a 50-seater bus for its sole purpose to transport - not evacuate! - people in a rare event of a house fire. As said, we have to rely on busses provided by public transportation. Have a nice day.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

​@@Doc_Rainbownone of the ambulance busses shown in the video are for crew transport or rehab, both are Large Capacity Ambulance busses

[@tautautaulau]

@@rome0610 It is not uncommon in Germany for WW2 bombs to be found and evacuated, this happens almost daily in NRW. That's why it makes sense to operate such buses yourself.

[@florianj6490]

11:56 yes, you're totally right! There looks like Mantis eyes!! 😂

[@bennyhannover9361]

9:50 the Volkswagen Crafter is produced at Hanover, the Chassis is a licensed from Mercedes Sprinter but the engines are VW TDI ..

[@alwynemcintyre2184]

The VW's are there larger crafter vans, think come in a lot of configurations. We crafters in Australia mainly used as courier vans

[@biloaffe]

8:45 This is a promotional vehicle for the "Rescue Alley"

[@hahnele]

Emergency vehicles The RKSH has two all-wheel drive ambulances that are used in the event of major emergencies: a Ford F350 and a Dodge W200, each of which can transport 4 patients at the same time. The two vehicles are unique in the region and are used where "normal" ambulances can no longer get any further - for example off paved roads and paths. RKSH disaster relief vehicle RD EMD 78/94-2 The Dodge W200 is used in the event of major emergencies and can transport 4 patients at the same time. Thanks to its axle lock and off-road transmission, it is versatile and can also be used in difficult terrain. It is powered by a Chrysler V8 petrol engine and has an output of 107 kW. It was first licensed by the US Army in 1976.

[@davidmarkwort9711]

The reason you see such a diversity of manufacturers is that a lot of these vehicles are run by private companies, there are quite a few in Germany.

The vehicle at 9:07 is a Mercedes Vario. Kind of a predecesor to the Sprinter.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

actually it's a 609D, thus it's from the T2 series

[@Hartmut-oo5ts]

@@EnjoyFirefighting Are you sure it´s a 609? It sounds like a 614?

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

@@Hartmut-oo5ts I am. Also has the 609D label on its side

[@Hartmut-oo5ts]

@@EnjoyFirefighting Thanks. Obviously i need new glasses. Or a white stick... ;-)

[@thorstenkrell6038]

@ 6:38: This is a promotion for the "Rettungsgasse"/"Rescue Lane". The Dodge might be from an US Army/Air Force Base.

[@userhessenone1469]

The Dodge has a German numberplate. It belongs to Emden EMS

[@giftzwergspielt3222]

What you saw at 8:36 is a Mercedes Vario, built from 1996 to 2013. I don't know if they were ever sold to the U.S. but they were very popular here in germany because they closed the gap bitween the 3,5 ton Sprinter and the 7.5 ton (and up) Trucks. They were sold in similar configurations as the Sprinter

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

actually it's a 609D, predecessor of the Vario

[@Caeleste-42bit]

German paramedic here. The BMW and AUDI ambulances are ones that are used at the factories of the car companies, so they are not public ambulances although sometimes they can be assigned to "public" emergencies. Usually they only respond to emergencies at the factories they're stationed at. Same goes for factory-bound fire trucks. The ambulance with the cartoon on it is actually at a parade. The characters on there belong to a pretty famous EMS cartoon, which you can find in medical journals and magazines. And usually the red ambulances and EMS-Doctor vehicles are the ones from the fire departments. We also have a lot of private EMS companies here in Germany, hence the humongous amount of different paint schemes and logos on those. But most of them are from fire-rescue, Red Cross, ASB, MHD or JUH. Those are the biggest "public" EMS providers and also the most known ones. The reason why we have so many different vehicle types, is because we like to use a lot of specialized vehicles. Special mentions: The bus is a modular ambulance, which is usually used for mass casualty events, since it can either transport roundabout 4 red patients in mobile ICU beds, or many yellow/green patients, depending on what you prepare it for. And the jeeps are used for off-road emergencies, duh :) The ones you mentioned to have diesels, those are actually used in so called SEG's. I think the best translation for that is "Rapid Response Units". They are usually manned by volunteers of the red cross or other associations, and get used in disaster-response scenarios or mass casualty events. When the regular EMS can't handle the workload anymore or would be forced to give up or massively reduce their regular tasks because of a mass casualty event / natural disaster / terrorist attack / mass shooting / etc. , the SEG's can be called to support them and take most of the workload off of them, so they can resume their duties. They usually take around 30 minutes, since the volunteers have to drive to the station from their workplaces or from home, when its night time. The big MAN trucks are so called ITW's. They are mobile intensive care units. The long yellow MAN truck, that said "Katastrophenschutz" (eng.: Disaster-response) on the side, is a type 2 (meaning biggg boyyy) mobile EMS command center (Called ELW2 or "Einsatzleitwagen 2" in German). There are also fire department and police versions of those. They are equipped with extendable radio towers, offices, a meeting room, multiple command/dispatch stations with digital equipment and radios, diesel-electric generators, etc. so they can work completely off-grid. The vehicles with the "BRK" markings or the blue-white flag on them, are from one of our states called Bavaria (or "Bayern" in German). I bet you've heard of that one. The state with the pretzels, the beer and the Weißwurst. Almost all German stereotypes exist because of Bavaria :D They have the weirdest vehicles, including the golf cart thingy.

[@Hartmut-oo5ts]

Hi Ian. Now imagine all these and more in a real big crash scene. Just a couple of days ago we had one of those here (Vollsperrung/full closure A (Autobahn) 45 Anschlussstelle/junction Siegen, FR (direction) Dortmund, LKW-Unfall/truck-crash), everything from emergency response to firefighter to heavy lift equipment to rescue helicopter (callsign "Christoph 25", an Airbus H135, landed right there on the highway). Quite a sight.

[@FentionX]

Memorizing the train crash in bavaria 7 years ago, when 12 people died and around 90 got heavily injured: There were 17 helicopters and around 200 rescue vehicles involved (including one of the busses).

[@that_one_pole17]

5:29 - It wasn't a wagon, it was an MPV. A 2 series Active Tourer. There is also a Gran Tourer which is more boxy.

[@ItsEphora]

The way that video went I fully expected the horse carriage to be a firefighting one 😂

[@stijnc9896]

6:39 “Rescue lane saves lives” is the message on the ambulance

[@peterdresel2187]

The Dodge Minivan is a Chrysler Voyager built in Austria under contract for the European market only!!

[@osmes84]

Guck dir die großen lichter an... Oh ein Zementmischer, ich liebe die 😂😂😂😂😂

[@michaelmuller5667]

To explain the clip with the horses It is a festival in my city and the ambulace is part of the convoy trough the coty

[@iida4421]

9:00 that is a Mercedes Benz Vario 508D model. when I was a child there was an ambulance like that around here.

[@Bird_Dog00]

6:45 It's a PSA-like add reminding people to form resque lanes when in a traffic jam (many drivers seem to forget that). The cartoon style is just there to make it more memorable.

[@markuskruger2102]

The Dodge is stationed in Emden Ostfriesland, Northwest Germany at Northsea coast, there are VW, Nordseewerke, Rheinstahl and so on

[@christiankastorf4836]

About that fancy painting at the side of the vehicle in 6:34 . It says "Rettungsgasse rettet Leben", meaning "rescue path saves lives", reminding motorists to keep a free lane in case of a traffic jam on highways.

[@eisenbahnundfeuerwehrdresd9262]

Hi, here is a Firefighter from Dresden, we got here in Germany many unique emergency vehicles and here in Dresden, we have a fire truck who only exist ten times in hole Germany. Its the DLK 12-9 LF and surprise, my fire department the Freiwillige Feuerwehre (volunteer fire department) Weixdorf have this. So the DLK 12-9 LF is build on a MAN chase (i dont if its the correct word 😅) and have a leader, a 2,000 Liters tank and a crew cabin for 6 Firefighters, which is for a leader fire truck very rare.

[@bastlwastl497]

Wow...never seen before. When a DLK and an LF had an Child🤣

[@BuggyGamer-db6mw]

As many have already stated, the BMW and Audi ones very likely belong to one of their bigger factories. It's quite usual that big factories have their own fire department, ems or sometimes also their own "police"/security services with special rights. They tend to have all, or at least most, special equipment that they may need specifically at that plant, as well as special training for the type of scenarios which could be greatly different from one type of facility to the next. They sometimes also assist the normal fire department with special equipment or just in general. That being said i think you should also take a look at the special emergency vehicles from the Chempark Leverkusen or the BASF Ludwigshafen (Both essentially huge chemistry plants/areas) Side-Note: Pretty sure the Wig-Wag effect may not be legal, depending on the state, so many just tend not to have it. Could be wrong though.

[@foto-muc9699]

The BMW and Audi ambulances belong to the factory's health & fire departments. Many very large companies have their own fire and rescue services, usually called "Werksfeuerwehr" The bus that can be seen is a "large-capacity ambulance". It is used when there are many patients to be cared for. Up to 4 critical patients can be cared for in such a bus at the same time.

[@Doc_Rainbow]

The ambulances with the car logos on the side are from the Plant fire Departments, for example the BMW factory

[@Geverae]

The ambulances with car company names on the side belong to the plant fire and emergency stations. They sometimes also respond to emergencies outside of the plant if needed.

[@max_98831]

hey my name is Max. I live in Germany and work at a fire station on an ambulance. You were wondering at (4:02 and 4:40) why the brands of BMW and Audi are shown on the ambulances. This is because the ambulances belong to car manufacturers on the company premises. But since BMW and Audi don't build trucks, they have to buy them from other manufacturers.

[@zerodarkthirty7171]

in germany ambulances sometimes have sponsor ships from companies and from time to time are part of a manufacturers own fire department.

[@stuborn-complaining-german]

The Mercedes G-Klass / G-Wagon is mainly used as a vehicle for off road / heavy duty operations throughout Europe. Yes, ther is also the v8 / v12 luxury version, but thats not its original purpose. Typical uses are for hunters / foresters to get around in the woods, all sorts of off road applications, emergeny and service vehicles for remote places... The "Wolf" a slightly modyfied version of the G-wagon is to this day the standard small off road vehicle of the Bundeswehr. It has a soft top that can be taken all the way down, is even more off road capable and driven by a diesel engine. Maybe take a look at that one sometime...

[@IHadz]

Here in Hungary we use many busses to transport lots of officers around the city at once. They mainly use them in big events.

[@TobiContinued]

7:35 The RKSH not only have a Dodge, they do have a F-350 as an ambulance as well

[@florjanbrudar692]

8:37 It's a Mercedes-Benz TN, it's my all time favourite Mercedes van. It's also a pickup truck (single and crew cab), fire engine and even an RV.

[@drau331]

About the Dodge: I quote from the description of the Homepage of the Association for Rescue Services, Patient Transport and Social Assistance Services (RKSH) in Emden / Lower Saxony: "The Dodge W200 is used in the event of major incidents and can transport 4 patients at the same time. Thanks to the axle lock and off-road transmission, it is versatile and can also be used in difficult terrain. It is powered by a Chrysler V8 petrol engine and has an output of 107kW. It was first approved by the US Army in 1976." So its used for heavy disaster events in in off-road terrain but just for pure transport. Medical treatment en route is not possible....

[@florianj6490]

8:36 this is a Mercedes and it's quite rare nowadays, because it's an old model from the 80s

[@SteveBernard42]

Mercedes Vario.

[@germandude5181]

@@SteveBernard42 Definitely a T2, a 609D to be exact. Produced in the early 1990s, outfitted by the Dutch company "Visser" for the KBA-ambulance service in Norderstedt, in service there until 2001, after which it was bought by the Bavarian Red Cross in Regensburg. They used it until 2018, after which it was replaced.

[@SteveBernard42]

@@germandude5181 Ah, I remember….. 80kmh uphill or downhill!

[@jensschroder8214]

1:20 If a bus or train is involved in an accident, the passengers must be cared for. Or if a tall residential building is affected. We have a regular bus. When the fire department requests it, it lets all passengers get off at the next bus stop and goes to work with blue lights and a siren. 2:16 a Mercedes G-Class. In Austria a Puch G-Class. Mercedes builds the G-Class from Puch. Puch is a specialist in off-road vehicles, but many are too small for global sales. I think Mercedes has now joined Puch.

[@rome0610]

Well, Puch is history, long ago. But yes, Graz is the center of design and plant for the now Mercedes G. Same plant as the mentioned Dodge Caravan / Chrysler Voyager was assembled for the whole European market (LHD) and worldwide for the RHD models.

[@aasphaltmueller5178]

@@rome0610 that was the old STEYR-PUCH plant and personnel, taken over by MAGNA. They were specialists in 4WD-Systems, worked for FIAT, Alfa, Subaru, and than Mercedes. The G-Wagons frame and drive train was a Puch Development, and they were sold under the PUCH name in Austria, Switzerland and the old east-bloc

[@Heisenberg-Blue]

Audi is a subsidiary of the VW Group as well as Lamborghini and Porsche etc.

[@l3utters]

The BMW Ambulance belongs to the munich plant of BMW. When the city of munich needs an ambulance and the BMW plant ambulance is free they also assist the firefighters of the city. :)

[@bentucker2301]

They make campers out of those Mercedes Varios with permanent 4WD, centre and rear differential locks, and a five-speed ZF gearbox that incorporates a 1.67:1 reduction ratio for technical terrain. I want one badly.

[@Happymali10]

8:39 That's an old (like...80s, iirc) Mercedes transporter. The sound was typical for the diesels then, it's often called "nageln" ("nailing", like hitting nails into a board). It's probably serving with a private rescue provider, or in a rural area with tight funding (new ambulances cost a fortune)

[@mariokrings]

12:35 The busses are regular buses owned by the fire department. They can be used to transport fire fighters to substitute tired ones in large scale ops. But most of the times they are deployed to move citizens from dangerous locations or just giving residents of burning houses (especially multi-family residences) an instant place to stay and rest.

[@brandweer1939]

Im living in the netherlands most sirens are the same here used on other emergency vehicle's but the 70's model EMS is used for the mountain location so far i know and its a pretty cool vehicle

[@knopflos4232]

Ohhh. Was eine Ehre das Videoausschnitte von unserem Doppelkabiner in den USA geschaut werden. Der Gigaliner war mein Lieblingsprojekt 😜

[@alexlycan8]

Fellow Swede here! So going back to that old 76 Dodger Pickup, most Swedish ambulances use the Chevrolet Silverado model for most if not all EMS fleets in Sweden, answering this from what you said at 7:57.

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

Wait a minute. Yes there are some Chevy Silverados used as ambulance in Sweden,but only in a few areas

[@AndreasWalter]

The first V8 Mercedes G-Model was build for the Firefighters of Frankfurt Airport. The predecessor was a Mercedes 300SEL 6.3. It was necessery to reach every point of the Airport in 3 Minutes, especially for the new in construction runway west.

[@AboveSomething]

These Dodge Caravans (actually, the Chrysler Voyager was way way more common) were veery popular in the 90s and early 2000's, easily the most common US car next to the 300c!

[@Zetlex02]

The yellow one u saw at 9:00 is a ITW(IntensivTransportWagen), itss used to transport critical patients from one hospital to another if needed

[@EnjoyFirefighting]

definetly not. It was an ambulance from a volunteer division, usually called in at larger scenarios or are on stand-by at large events like sports events, festivals and alike. But not that's definetly not used for interhospital transfers of critical patients

[@JS-mb7yo]

2:21 it is an older version of the G-Wagon and Not the newest one. That version was not only produced as a luxury car, but also as an commercial version for emergency service, Rangers and so on

[@Steven91637]

Almost every Big Factory Company in Germany has it’s own Ambulance and Firefighter Car Park

[@jensschroder8214]

American: "Drive through" German: "Drive in" I think the word "through" wasn't easy to remember. The word "in" exists in German too

[@banshee37]

Plus the "th" in through is hard to pronounce for common Germans. Would be more a "Dreif sruu" 😂

[@bananenmusli2769]

I think another reason could be that Germans can't say "through"

[@powertothebauer296]

jensschroeder8214: Drive through makes no sense, I want at least stop once to pick up my food instead drive through.

[@JohannesB5]

13:20 Is a Ford C-Max. It's a Minivan based on the Focus Platform

[@BudderGolemxx]

7:40 Morlock Motors 😂

[@trem1234]

I come from Germany and work on a voluntary basis for the THW (Technical Relief Organization) the official English translation is the Federal Agency for Technical Relief. We work in civil defense and support the fire department. We also have missions abroad. I think it would be cool if you could react to that (sry for my bad english) Best regards Trem

[@BruscoTheBoar]

9:49 that's actually a special one to carry stroke patients. They even have a MRI inside, so they can properly detect and treat a stroke on the way to the hospital. Berlin has like...3 of them.