- Event: Presentation of Project PiLOT.112 & 5 Years of Cooperation
- Date: Around the European 112 Day (11.02.)
- Key Actors: City of Jena, Inter-communal Regional Control Center
- Objective: Modernization and digital advancement of emergency call processing
Jena (12.02.2026) – When seconds decide between life and death, every gear in the system must mesh perfectly. Marking the European 112 Day, the City of Jena and the inter-communal regional control center not only looked back on five years of successful cooperation but also set the course for the future with “PiLOT.112.”
Five Years of Combined Expertise
Safety in Jena and the surrounding districts depends significantly on the efficiency of emergency call processing. Five years ago, the cooperation between the City of Jena and the regional control center was restructured to leverage synergies and optimize mission coordination. On the occasion of the Europe-wide day of action on February 11, those responsible have now drawn a positive balance.
This inter-communal cooperation is considered a flagship model in Thüringen. By pooling resources, large-scale incidents – such as severe weather events or complex multi-vehicle accidents on the A4 – can be better coordinated. The control center acts as the “brain” of the rescue services: this is where all the threads come together, and where the fire department, rescue services, and emergency physicians are alerted.
Project PiLOT.112: A Focus on Modernization
However, standing still is not an option in the rescue service. Technological requirements are steadily increasing, as is the volume of calls. Against this backdrop, the city and the control center used the meeting to provide an outlook on planned modernizations. At the heart of these efforts is the new PiLOT.112 project.
While technical details remained general in the initial announcement, projects of this nature typically aim to make the digital infrastructure of control centers future-proof. This often includes:
- Improved networking between various rescue forces.
- The use of modern software for faster dispatching of emergency resources.
- Optimizations in caller location identification to guide rescue teams even more precisely to the scene of an accident.
With PiLOT.112, Jena underscores its commitment to staying at the cutting edge of technology and ensuring citizen safety through innovation.
Background: The European 112 Day
Across the entire European Union, February 11 is dedicated to the emergency number 112 – fittingly chosen for the date (11.2.). The number connects those seeking help in all EU member states to the relevant rescue services free of charge. It is vital to remember when this number should be dialed:
The 112 is intended for life-threatening situations, such as signs of a heart attack, serious accidents, fires, or loss of consciousness. For non-life-threatening illnesses outside of regular GP hours, the medical on-call service is available at 116 117. Correctly distinguishing between these needs significantly reduces the burden on dispatchers at the regional control center and ensures that real emergencies do not lose a single second.
Conclusion
The presentation of PiLOT.112 demonstrates that the safety architecture in Jena is not merely managed, but actively shaped. The coming months are expected to be significant as the concrete measures of the project are integrated into the daily routines of rescuers and dispatchers.