The second National Paging Conference, held in Berlin on January 26, 2004, focused on alerting procedures for the 1.4 million German firefighters and rescue workers, most of whom are volunteers. Analog networks are still widely used for alerting, and the planned digital BOS network does not meet all the requirements of the fire and rescue services. Twelve speakers from Germany and abroad presented possible consequences and alternative solutions to more than 150 participants during the conference.