3,000 Evacuated for Bomb Disposal as Germany Tests New CBRN Response Unit in Parallel Drills
04.06.2026 - 08:05:23 | boerse-global.de
A controlled explosion of two World War II bombs forced more than 3,000 residents out of their homes in Brandenburg this week, as emergency services across the country simultaneously rehearsed for chemical, biological and nuclear threats.
The bomb disposal in Hohen Neuendorf and Oranienburg was no exercise. Authorities cordoned off a 1,200-meter safety zone that affected 2,500 people in Borgsdorf and 414 in Oranienburg. S-Bahn services stopped from 8 a.m., and by late afternoon the all-clear sounded. In a separate operation, a panzerfaust mine was cleared from the Lossow district of Frankfurt (Oder).
While Brandenburg dealt with real wartime ordnance, 800 responders and 400 role-players gathered in Cologne's RheinEnergieStadion for one of the year's largest civil-protection drills. The scenario: the aftermath of a chemical accident at a pesticide factory. The exercise, codenamed "resConEx '26", serves as the proving ground for a new EU-backed specialty unit called rescEU-CBRN-DECON, which must be operational by the end of 2026.
Personnel from THW (Federal Agency for Technical Relief), the Federal Police and the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) practiced decontaminating people, vehicles and equipment under time pressure. Nils Jakubeit, the THW exercise director, said inter-agency cooperation was running smoothly so far. The week-long drill series runs until June 5 and includes simulations of attacks on large public events, as well as cleaning evidence and infrastructure.
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The pressure was not confined to NRW. On Tuesday, the Diakonie Klinikum Hunsrück in Simmern simulated a complete power outage. Thirty hospital staff and 30 firefighters evacuated ten intensive-care patients from the fourth floor — without using elevators.
Reality added its own demands.
In Cologne's Severinsviertel, 55 firefighters rescued two adults and two children from a balcony on Tuesday morning; all six occupants suffered smoke inhalation. In Königswinter, a forgotten pan on the stove sparked a fire at a sheltered housing facility on Wednesday; 60 responders evacuated 14 residents. And in Neuenrade, the volunteer fire brigade held a drill Monday with 49 personnel and ten vehicles, rehearsing rescues from an underground garage and the use of balconies as escape routes.
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The week's events underline a simple truth: whether planned or urgent, Germany's emergency services are ready for both.
