Fully connected fleet: ZF digitizes the Berlin Fire Department’s fleet and emergency response teams

Berlin is one of the most demanding operational environments in Europe. With more than 3.8 million residents, a dense urban infrastructure, and numerous large-scale events, the capital places exceptional demands on emergency response services. In 2025 alone, the Berlin Fire Department responded to more than 558,000 calls. Statistically speaking, this means emergency responders were called upon nearly every minute. In the capital, both the fleet and the crews must be fully operational 24/7, 365 days a year—which requires a massive administrative effort behind the scenes, managed as quietly and efficiently as possible.

To safely, efficiently, and effectively manage these enormous demands and high call volumes, digital solutions for personnel and vehicle management are a critical success factor. Since 2023, the Berlin Fire Department has relied on ZF Rescue Connect as a central platform that intelligently connects emergency personnel, vehicles, and control centers. This collaboration has now reached an important milestone: two and a half years after the project began, the capital city’s entire fire department fleet—across more than 100 locations—is now fully digitally connected via the ZF system.

“The demanding operational environment of the Berlin Fire Department provides us with an almost ideal setting to demonstrate the wide range of applications for ZF Rescue Connect,” said Markus Kaiser, Key Account Manager at ZF and responsible for the Berlin Fire Department account. “Here, it becomes impressively clear how far our platform extends beyond traditional fleet management—for example, by integrating workshops, control centers, and even medical equipment into a single digital solution.”

“In Berlin, we can truly say that, thanks to our excellent ability to ‘read’ data, we are increasingly able to stay ahead of the curve,” added Maximilian Krause, Project Manager for Digital Fleet Management and Head of Vehicle Product Management at the Berlin Fire Department. “During operations, we are already anticipating many developments today. This increasingly puts us in a position to act rather than react. For fleet management, data-driven decisions are worth their weight in gold.”

“We can now assess areas whose significance we did not fully recognize in the past,” Krause continued. For example, the Berlin Fire Department has now integrated its boats into the routing system, allowing their locations to be tracked at all times using real-time data.

Long-term partnership for connected emergency response

From the outset, the goal of the collaboration between ZF and the Berlin Fire Department was to deploy the platform safely and quickly while continuously refining it based on real-world experience. Over the past twelve months, ZF employees, together with the Berlin Fire Department, have installed several hundred tags as well as more than 700 connectivity gateways and telematics devices. Through this deep integration, ZF Rescue Connect now collects data from the drivetrain, the chassis, as well as from special equipment and vehicle bodies.

Modern emergency vehicles generate enormous amounts of data with every trip. Across the entire fleet, Berlin now produces approximately 1 to 1.5 million data points per minute. The current level of implementation therefore provides the foundation for further digitalization and connectivity initiatives by the capital’s fire department—enabling strategic, operational, and tactical advancements. One such advancement is that ZF is currently working with manufacturers of fire and rescue vehicle superstructures to ensure ZF Rescue Connect hardware is installed directly at the factory.

“ZF has paved the way for us to achieve a fully digitally integrated fleet. That is why we are pleased to continue this partnership over the long term,” said Christoph Stiller, Head of Central Services, Technology, and Logistics at the Berlin Fire Department.

ZF Rescue Connect: A digital platform for emergency responders and vehicles

ZF Rescue Connect is a modular, cloud-based platform for digital emergency response and fleet management, designed for organizations with security responsibilities. The system connects vehicles, equipment, emergency responders, and control centers in real time and provides relevant information through a centralized interface. Its features include vehicle and status management, mission documentation, resource overviews, and interfaces with existing control center and IT systems.

The platform can be used independently of any specific manufacturer and is designed not only for fire departments, but also for emergency medical services, disaster response organizations, and other emergency response agencies.

Starting in June, ZF will launch a completely revamped product portfolio, becoming Europe’s largest provider of digital solutions for emergency response agencies. Everything comes from a single source: tactical command-and-control software, communication, routing, e-mobility, fleet management, and medical device management. This far-reaching development—carried out under the slogan “New Digital Operations World”—opens entirely new possibilities for emergency responders, meets the highest standards across all areas, and enables the integration of external services. With more than 25 existing and planned apps, the platform represents, more than ever, a scalable and flexible digital ecosystem for the entire emergency response sector.

The innovations will be unveiled for the first time at INTERSCHUTZ in Hanover in early June. As the world’s leading trade fair for firefighting, rescue services, and civil protection, the week-long event focuses on new concepts and solutions for emergency response and, under the motto “Safeguarding Tomorrow,” highlights new approaches, trends, and technologies for the rescue sector.