No Fire Alarm and the Fire Station Burns to the Ground

A state-of-the-art fire station in 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 in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, had proudly unveiled the new structure less than a year ago, but 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.

 

“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 €20-24 million.

 

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 revealed that 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. 

 

The cause of the blaze has yet to be ascertained but initial reports suggested a battery charger may have overheated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 in a Sunday home match as the Reds returned to the top of the English Premier League. 

 

Mohamed Salah put his team ahead from the spot after 29 minutes following a Blues’ foul on Curtis Jones. Enzo Maresca's side leveled in the 48th minute but three minutes later, Jones scored the winner in the Chelsea area after he beat the visitors' offside trap, 2-1. Salah assisted from the right flank.

 

This win was described by Phil McNulty (BBC Chief football writer at Anfield) as workmanlike, but another three points is what mattered.