This year's March has already scored with the first beautiful spring days. With the warmer - and usually drier - season, the risk of forest fires also increases. Against this background, the Aachen fire department, together with the city's forestry department, would like to point out that smoking and open fires are expressly prohibited in the forest. The smoking ban applies throughout NRW from March 1 to October 31; open fires are prohibited all year round. Over 90 percent of forest fires have no natural cause. It is therefore all the more important that forest visitors adhere to the applicable rules and are careful when walking in the popular Öcher Bösch and all other forest areas in Aachen.

The NRW State Forestry Act literally states that "in the forest or at a distance of less than one hundred meters from the edge of the forest [...] outside a facility erected or approved by the forestry authority and marked accordingly, lighting or maintaining a fire or using a barbecue or storing highly flammable substances is not permitted". This also includes a general smoking ban in the period from March 1 to October 31. Violations can result in a fine of up to 25,000 euros.

Anyone who sees smoke while out walking or discovers a fire in the forest should immediately call the fire department on 112. When reporting a fire, you can use the signposted rescue points in the forest as a guide. If it is safe to do so, you should wait for the emergency services and instruct them.

Further information on the Öcher Bösch and on correct and respectful behavior in the forest can be found online at www.aachen.de/wald.

The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance has compiled information on forest fires in a flyer.