BERLIN (AP) — A new fire station in the city center Germanywhich was destroyed in a fire, causing millions of euros in damage, and destroyed equipment did not have a fire alarm system, local media reported on Thursday.
The fire broke out early Wednesday morning at the Stadhalendorf fire station in Hesse and destroyed, among other things, the equipment hall and almost a dozen emergency vehicles, the German news agency dpa reported. Initial estimates put the damage at between 20 million and 24 million euros ($21 million to $26 million). No one was injured.
The fire broke out in a fire rescue vehicle, which contained lithium-ion batteries and an external power connection.
Local officials told dpa that a fire alarm system had not been installed in the building because experts did not consider it necessary – much to the surprise of many now that the station has burned down.
The station opened less than a year ago, local media report.
“I believe that what happened will make many people think and act,” Norbert Fischer, the head of the State Fire Brigade Association of the State of Hesse, told dpa about improving fire safety requirements at fire stations.
Precisely because there is a lot of technology in fire stations and batteries are charged, it would make sense to equip them with fire alarm systems, Fischer said, noting that it was unclear whether such a system could have prevented the worst in Stadhalendorf.
“The fire spread rapidly,” he said.
