The power supply in Steglitz-Zehlendorf experienced a total outage lasting 104 hours in early January, following a suspected arson attack motivated by far-left extremism. During this time, an estimated 100,000 people were affected, spending up to five days in the cold and dark.
According to the Berlin Fire Department’s full operational protocol, which was analyzed by the podcast “104 Stunden Blackout” of the “Tagesspiegel”, the incident placed several individuals in life-threatening situations. The fire department had to respond to 40 calls specifically because patients were dependent on oxygen equipment.
Alarmingly, a quarter of these oxygen-related incidents were so severe that an emergency physician had to be called out. Furthermore, 12 calls were handled under the code “RD1NC” representing the highest degree of urgency-two of these times involved patients who were being artificially ventilated. In total, beyond the 40 oxygen-related emergencies, the 416 reported incidents during the blackout included three full resuscitation efforts.
