Fire at will in Meppen

From August 1, 2024, the Wehrtechnische Dienststelle für Waffen und Munition, WTD 91, in Meppen, Lower Saxony, can once again use its entire shooting range without restrictions. The Federal Ministry of Defense assessed all measures derived from the moor fire incident in 2018 and subsequently implemented consistently as fulfilled, and granted the corresponding approval for the return to regular shooting and testing operations.

Around 15 million euros have been invested in recent years to significantly improve the equipment of the agency for defensive fire protection and at the same time take measures that serve nature conservation, especially in the moor area of the WTD 91 premises.

This includes the procurement of special vehicles such as moor and fire bulldozers, protected excavators, recovery tanks, and reconnaissance drones for use in fire incidents. An associated improvement in firefighting water supply is ensured by the construction of additional wells.

As a reminder: After rocket tests on behalf of the Bundeswehr, the moor in Meppen, Lower Saxony, caught fire on September 3, 2018. The fire smoldered on around 1,000 hectares of military training ground of the WTD 91 for over a month. Many emergency services from the surrounding area actively supported in the extinguishing efforts. The resumption of unrestricted operations was subject to various conditions to minimize the fire risk, which are now fulfilled.

WTD 91 online