Warning of dangers

According to the Hessian Fire and Disaster Protection Act, the cities and municipalities are responsible for providing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure to "warn the population". In Hofheim, this task is carried out by the Hofheim fire department.

The citizens of Hofheim can be warned in various ways. For example, a warning may be required in the event of large-scale fires, the release of chemical substances or the discovery and disposal of explosive ordnance. The incident command decides when and to what extent a warning is issued.

Current danger and warning messages that require a high level of dissemination are disseminated via the federal government's modular warning system "MoWaS" (warnung.bund.de). This enables us to reach users of the usual warning apps such as NINA, KATWARN, HessenWARN and BIWapp. In addition, the information is transmitted directly to radio stations in this way. It is therefore strongly recommended that you install one of these warning apps on your smartphone.

In the event of imminent danger or after the occurrence of a damaging event, it is very important to warn the population quickly. There are various ways to do this. In addition to the mobile loudspeaker systems provided by the fire department and other organizations, a citizens' telephone can be set up if required.

The transmission of information requires that the population can be reached by the chosen warning option. Options for this would be, for example

- Loudspeaker announcements
- Radio announcements
- Television news
- Push messages from radio and television stations
- Modular warning system of the federal government (MoWaS)
- Sirens
- Internet sites
- Social media (Twitter, Facebook, ...)
- Notices
- Digital city information and advertising boards

With cell broadcasting technology, warning messages can be sent quickly and easily to a large number of people. An app is not required.

To date, no other warning medium has reached more people. It is therefore very suitable for alerting people in an emergency. With Cell Broadcast, the warning message is sent directly to the mobile devices capable of receiving it in a specific section of a mobile network. Older devices are often not able to receive cell broadcast messages. Updates from manufacturers and network operators are constantly improving accessibility. The mobile devices must be switched on and must not be in flight mode. There is no all-clear for Cell Broadcast.

The first nationwide warning day took place in September 2020. In addition to the NINA warning app, other warning multipliers such as sirens and digital information boards were also used.

The district town of Hofheim am Taunus also has a comprehensive siren network. The sirens are triggered by radio from the central control center. The sirens are partly used and maintained to alert the volunteer fire department and generally to warn the population.