Since the beginning of the year, a new rescue helicopter has been in use in the skies over Berlin: the Christoph 100, operated by DRF Luftrettung. The official inauguration of the station in Berlin-Buch took place today in the presence of the State Secretary for the Interior of the State of Berlin, Christian Hochgrebe, and numerous representatives from politics and the region.

Around 150 guests accepted the invitation to the ceremony at the Berlin-Buch station, which was hosted by DRF Air Rescue together with the Berlin Fire Department and the Berlin Federal Armed Forces Hospital. Dr. Krystian Pracz, CEO of DRF Air Rescue, welcomed those present in the hangar of the newly built station: “It is our central mission to provide people in medical emergencies with the best and fastest possible help. In the first four months, Christoph 100 was called out to around 500 missions – for DRF Air Rescue, this mere number represents every single person we were able to treat quickly and take to a hospital if necessary.” Dr. Krystian Pracz also pointed out the station’s special features and range of operations: “Our rescue helicopter Christoph 100 is available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., so we cover a period of time in which, in our experience, most emergencies occur. We carried out around 100 missions in the dark in the first few months.”

In his speech , Christian Hochgrebe , State Secretary for the Interior of the State of Berlin in the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport of the State of Berlin, emphasized above all the importance of the newly constructed helicopter base for the people of Berlin and the surrounding area: “DRF Air Rescue is a reliable partner for emergency rescue in Berlin. The team of the Christoph Berlin intensive care transport helicopter has been proving this for almost 30 years. I am very pleased that the new Christoph 100 will continue to enable excellent emergency care in Berlin in the future. My thanks go to all the air rescue teams with their ‘flying intensive care units’, whose service is indispensable in emergencies and crises.” Dr. Eiko Spielmann, Deputy Medical Director of the Berlin Fire Department’s rescue service, and General Surgeon Dr. Ralf Hartmann, Commander and Medical Director of the Berlin Bundeswehr Hospital, spoke on behalf of the Berlin Fire Department and the Bundeswehr Hospital, which each provide half of the emergency doctors and paramedics on board Christoph 100. Like Carmen Bier, Managing Director of Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, they emphasized the cooperative collaboration and the high quality of patient care.

The Berlin-Buch station
Commissioned by the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport, DRF Air Rescue began operating Christoph 100 in Berlin-Buch on January 2, 2024. The station is the only German station with extended off-peak hours that is operational all year round from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Pilots fly missions in the dark with night vision goggles. Christoph 100 is alerted as a fast emergency doctor transport in emergency rescue. The red and white aircraft, which is manned by two pilots, an emergency doctor and an emergency paramedic during its operational readiness, can reach locations within a radius of 60 kilometers in a maximum of 15 flight minutes. In addition, Christoph 100 can be used for intensive care transport if necessary.