A state-of-the-art fire station in western Germany that was completed last year at a cost of tens of millions of euros has burned to the ground because it had not been equipped with a fire alarm.
The town of Stadtallendorf had proudly unveiled the new structure less than a year ago, but early on Wednesday emergency services were alerted to a fire that had started in a vehicle before quickly spreading to the whole building.
About 170 firefighters battled the blaze, including members of the local volunteer fire brigade, as 10-metre flames leapt from the station’s roof.
No one was injured although 10 fire engines were destroyed. But relief at the lack of casualties quickly gave way to incredulity that the building had no fire alarm – and then growing outrage and bafflement over the revelation that this was not a legal requirement.
Firefighters who rushed to the scene became emotional at the realisation that their own station had burned to the ground.
“It is a nightmare for a firefighter. No one wants to have to extinguish his own fire station,” the district fire inspector, Lars Schäfer, told German media, adding that the cost of the damage was estimated at €20m-24m.
When the station was opened, it was hailed by the local paper, the Oberhessische Presse, as “modern, innovative and state-of-the-art”.
But Schäfer said it was not legally required to have a fire alarm because it belonged to the local municipality and was classified as a building holding equipment, not a fire station.
Norbert Fischer, the president of the Hesse State Fire Brigade Association, called for an urgent review of the legislation.
A spokesperson for the municipality said a fire protection wall had stopped the flames spreading to a separate wing of the building.
The cause of the blaze has yet to be ascertained but initial reports suggested a battery charger may have overheated.
Schäfer said for reasons of safety as well as for local morale, the building had to be reconstructed as swiftly as possible. Whether a future structure would be fitted with a fire alarm system would be a matter for discussion, officials said.
