On his way home from the swimming pool, eight-year-old Björn Steiger is hit by a car. Despite immediately alerting the police and emergency services, it takes almost an hour for the ambulance to arrive. Björn cannot be treated during the journey because the ambulance only has a driver and no oxygen equipment on board. Björn dies of preventable shock on 3 May 1969 on the way to hospital.

Instead of remaining in mourning, Björn's parents, Ute and Siegfried Steiger, decided to campaign for improvements to the emergency services in Germany. Two months after their son's death, they joined forces with seven friends to set up the Björn Steiger Foundation, with the aim of improving the chances of survival and care for other people in emergencies. Many achievements in the German emergency medical services since then can be traced back to the Björn Steiger Foundation. These include, for example, the introduction of the emergency number 110/112 and the founding and development of the German Air Rescue Service (DRF).

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