Civil protection in Europe: Germany
What is a disaster? In the Federal Republic of Germany we see a disaster as a damaging event which goes far beyond the extent of damaging events in daily life and poses a considerable risk or impairs the life and health of numerous people, substantial material values and the essential supply measures for the population.
Legal bases The legal bases of civil protection can be found in the respective civil protection laws of the individual countries. Civil protection essentially has the same set-up both in legal terms as well as structural terms with just several deviations in the 16 countries. The responsibility of the federal states refers to all disasters during times of peace, such as natural disasters, industrial disasters or major accidents. A distinction is made between civil protection and civil defence, which represents civil protection in case of defence and is the responsibility of the Federal Government.
Organisation The following assist in civil protection: The aid organisations Workers-Samaritan-Organisation (ASB), German Life Saving Association (DLRG), German Red Cross (DRK), Maltese Aid Organisation (MHD), Johanniter Accident Service (JUH), the Technical Aid Organisation (THW) and the professional and voluntary fire services. Other forces are the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) and the German Society for Rescuing Castaways at the coast. In addition, the Federal Border Guard and the German Army. Numerous private companies are indispensable for civil protection. Moreover, youths in the FRG can currently do 6-years of substitute service in civil protection instead of military or community service. This potential makes up a large part of the helper contingent in civil protection.
Assignment management of disaster control The management of disaster control is responsible for the so-called main administration officers of civil protection authority (e.g. the Ministry of the Interior of the Federal State concerned). He is assisted by a civil protection staff team as management tool that has a well-equipped communications centre and technical equipment for presenting situations for its strategic, logistical and communication-based tasks. On the next level below the civil protection staff team is the technical assignment management (TEL), as assignment management on site which is primarily occupied by the fire service.
Civil protection plans Each civil protection authority and each police headquarters have to prepare civil protection plans, extensive collection of data, in which all assignment teams, alarm and marching lines, equipment to list of hospital capacities and funeral institutes are listed. There are special supplementary plans for special risk situations, for example for floods or nuclear plant accidents.
Personnel and training The personnel of the federal German civil protection consists on the one hand of the so-called persons doing substitute service, recruited to a large extent however from purely voluntary workers. These are initially given standard basic training and are then trained separately in their special assignment area, a so-called specialist service. Specialist services of civil protection in Germany are for example medical service, support service, rescue service, ABC service and telecommunications service.
Costs and liability The volunteer workers continue to receive wages from their employers in the case of assignment, who then can assert corresponding claims at the civil protection authority. All parties involved in the civil protection are insured against accidents and are only liable for their actions in case of wilful intent and gross negligence. | 
