Bernburg/Magdeburg. In future, the Salzlandkreis district will work more closely with the state capital Magdeburg to coordinate rescue operations. District Administrator Markus Bauer and Mayor Simone Borris signed a corresponding agreement on Wednesday in Magdeburg. The Salzlandkreis district council had previously passed the necessary resolution. This means that a system can now be implemented that will enable both integrated control centres to manage emergency calls and operations in the individual regions even in the event of disruptions.
District Administrator Markus Bauer says: "The cooperation is important because it enables both partners to continue their work in this important area of public services without interruption, even if there are technical problems at one location." He sees the collaboration as a further signal of successful inter-municipal cooperation. "We are united by the common goal of creating crisis-proof and more sustainable structures in the region."
Mayor Simone Borris explains: "With this agreement, we are creating the conditions for mutual protection in the event of a system failure. This gives people in the state capital and the Salzland district the certainty that the 112 emergency number can still be reached if one of the two control centres suffers a system failure."
Specifically, the special-purpose agreement regulates the mutual transfer of emergency calls, operational data and alerting options in the event of system malfunctions, as well as the establishment of backup servers and communication links and the operation of an additional alerting system. It also regulates technical and organisational responsibilities as well as the division of costs between the partners.
The background to closed cooperation is a requirement of the state's rescue service law. This stipulates that an integrated control centre, as part of the critical infrastructure, must have what is known as redundancy, i.e. a kind of double bottom in the event of a technical failure. The basis for the special-purpose agreement is the Saxony-Anhalt Municipal Cooperation Act. The Salzland district council had already made the strategic decision to intensify cooperation with Magdeburg in 2022.
Anke Meyer, head of the department responsible for the integrated control centre at the Salzland district, explains that a common technical standard will now be created. This is the basis for interfaces and data backups. The Salzland district is currently preparing the necessary procurement of the new control centre software. The basis for this is a decision by the district council to award the contract. Anke Meyer mentions another advantage: costs can be reduced thanks to joint maintenance and support structures.
The common standards in the integrated control centres operated by the Salzland district and Magdeburg are also a prerequisite for achieving the medium and long-term goal of operating a joint control centre. The necessary discussions between the Salzland district, the state capital Magdeburg and other stakeholders are currently underway.