via:sansnom

Lützerath : incendiary sabotage of coal mine pumps

Fire to the coal infrastructure – reduce RWE to ashes
Translated from German via de.indymedia, 22 October 2022

On the night of October 18-19, we, several small groups from Lützerath, set fire to three pumps of the Garzweiler 2 open pit mine in the vicinity of the village.

The pumps are part of the infrastructure of the open-pit mine for which the village of Lützerath has to be destroyed. In the last two years, Lützerath has become a central place of resistance in Germany against the destruction and exploitation of nature and our ways of living. The attempt to evict the village is imminent. But Lützerath is not the only village threatened by open-cast mining.

On Monday, October 17, RWE [the operator of the giant brown coal mine] began to uproot the trees and demolish the houses in Immerath. Immerath is within sight, only a few minutes from Lützerath. All the inhabitants of the village have been evicted by RWE and large parts of it have already been destroyed.

With our action we respond to the unscrupulous activities of RWE. We are a sign of protest and disobedience against the capitalist relations of domination. We do not allow ourselves to be lulled by the false promises of politicians and parties.

According to the motto “deeds rather than words”, we must take the protection of the environment and the climate into our own hands. That is why it is necessary to sabotage the fossil infrastructure and make it harmless.

We call to do the same and to actively strike against the state and capital. Interfere with the status quo, disrupt the smooth running of operations. Be disobedient, be grains of sand in the gears!

We are aware that this form of action can lead to severe repression. But we accept this risk, because we have not lost hope and we will defend life.

Let’s attack the climate change profiteers directly!
Those who sow the wind reaps the storm.

And so you don’t have to start from scratch, here are instructions on how to set fire to the pumps 😉

Pump Background:

There are several thousand pump stations around the open pit mines in the Rhine Lignite Basin. They pump the groundwater so that water does not accumulate in the mines. As the open cast mines are several hundred meters deep, the pumps also go very far. The result is what is called a swamp funnel. This is an area in which the water table is permanently lowered, causing great chaos in the water cycle. This area extends beyond the Rhineland to the Netherlands. As a result, forests, such as the Hambach forest, are drying up in the long term. The pumps thus lead to an ecocide that extends far beyond the dredged areas and ecosystems. More sordid information is explained in this article:
https://www.bund-nrw.de/themen/braunkohle/hintergruende-und-publikationen/braunkohle-und-umwelt/braunkohle-und-wasser/

Scouting:

Before starting the action, it is advisable to observe the environment more closely. In some places around the open-pit mines RWE security guards are patrolling, who are in direct contact with the cops. Plan your arrival and departure precisely, look for possible hiding places. At least one person should also keep watch during the action.

Equipment:

Crowbar, bolt cutter, wrench, wood, straw, fire accelerant, storm lighter.

On site:

Pumps are often protected by site fences. If they are closed with a chain, a bolt cutter is suitable for breaking the chain links. It is also possible to open the clamps with which the fences are screwed. This is often done with a 17 or 19 mm wrench.

On the bottom side of the pump’s electrical box are some cables and ventilation slots. Starting the fire under the box without forcing the doors can be an option. However, it is worth the effort to pry open the electrical boxes. A crowbar works well for this. In our experience, the opening is not particularly noisy, but not completely silent either. The closing mechanism of the doors does not only close at the keyhole, but also at the top and bottom of the door. Inside the housing is all the electronics for the pump. So, if you want to make sure that the pump is completely disabled, we recommend that you take the time to break in the doors.

To ignite the pump’s electrical box, it’s best to use a rapidly flammable material. We used straw, fire accelerant and wooden pallets. This creates a fire that lasts about 15 minutes. We placed the straw directly underneath, as well as on the frames of the broken box. We leaned the pallets against the sides of the box. We used two or three pallets for this purpose. Finally, a whole load of fire accelerant (e.g. gasoline, lamp/motor oil or barbecue lighter). There’s no need to be sparing, unless you have other stations ahead of you 😉

It is convenient to use a storm lighter.

Safety:

Be aware that you leave footprints around the pumps. So choose the shoes you are going to wear carefully and get rid of them later if necessary. Construction fences can also leave traces if you snag your clothes on sharp edges. Of course, don’t leave tools behind, but wipe off the marks beforehand for safety. While fingerprints are easily avoided, DNA traces can only be avoided with a very rigorous approach. Make sure anything you leave on the pump is burned off. Talk about the action ONLY with people directly involved in the action. Look out for each other, stay together, even if there is a confrontation with site security for example. Discuss all contingency plans beforehand. How do you react in the worst case? Destroy all plans and evidence before the action, in order to be ready for a (house) search.

You can find the account of the experience of a similar action in the vicinity of Hambis on https://hambacherforst.org/blog/2019/01/04/make-hambi-a-threat-again-verheizt-rwes-infrastruktur-statt-braunkohle/

You can find more information on the implementation of actions and security culture on the website https://luetzerathlebt.info/soli-aktionen/

Translated by Act for freedom now!