The narrow streets and squares of Freiburg’s old town are often bustling with activity. To ensure that large events can proceed safely and without disruption, security considerations must be integrated early in the event planning process. In the event of a high-risk situation, visitors must be quickly brought to safety and the danger contained. This requires emergency services and security authorities to maintain a clear overview of the situation and make rapid decisions.
To support the security authorities in this task, the FreiburgRESIST research and development project is creating an integrated resilience management system. Existing systems used by emergency services will be connected and enhanced with new features, including simulations and sensor-based forecasts. This collaborative solution is designed for use not only at major events but also in everyday operations, with the goal of sustainably improving the city’s safety and resilience.
The Region of Lifesavers association supports the FreiburgRESIST project with its expertise in app-based first responder alert systems, as well as by testing the situational query system with users of the existing Lifesavers app. The aim is to obtain additional information during events or incidents more quickly, reliably, and continuously.
This sub-project integrates the Region of Lifesavers app into the planned resilience management system as a source of situational information. It enables the alerting of registered first responders within the vicinity of incoming emergency calls or hazardous situations, collects specific information from them about the acute threat, and sends messages to them. Their responses are analysed during major incidents to gain valuable minutes in assessment and deployment planning. First responders can also communicate with one another if a danger is not anticipated and only becomes apparent on site, with the goal of coordinated action at the emergency scene. Additionally, the app will be used to communicate recommended actions as part of a structure designed to keep unassigned first responders actively and sustainably involved in crisis management.
FreiburgRESIST aims to extend the existing Region of Lifesavers system to cover additional emergency scenarios in the future, particularly in civil protection and disaster management, and more broadly wherever civil society can be engaged to provide specialised voluntary support.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding FreiburgRESIST in its second phase under the SIFOLife programme. During the first phase, a tailored solution for local needs was developed. The current phase focuses on implementing and testing the concept. For this, the BMBF has committed over €6.6 million in funding for the next four years.
Participants include the City of Freiburg administration, with the Office for Digital Affairs and IT (DIGIT), the Office for Fire and Disaster Protection, and the Office for Public Order. Also involved are the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics (Ernst Mach Institute), the Centre for Security and Society (CSS), Materna Information & Communications SE, Virtual City Systems GmbH (VCS), accu:rate GmbH, Freiburg Wirtschaft Tourismus Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM), and the non-profit Region of Lifesavers association. The Freiburg Police Headquarters is an associated partner.
