by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News October 23, 2024

A brand new fire station in Germany’s Hesse state burned to the ground after an electric vehicle belonging to the fire department caught fire, reports say.

The fire broke out on Oct. 16 at the Stadtallendorf fire station and destroyed the equipment hall and almost a dozen emergency vehicles, according to local media.

The fire, which started from a vehicle that “contained lithium-ion batteries and an external power connection,” caused between $21.5 million and $25.9 million in damage, according to local reports. No one was injured.

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Local officials told the German news agency DPA the station, which opened a year ago, didn’t have a fire alarm system because experts had considered it not necessary.

“This fire spread at breakneck speed,” said Norbert Fischer, chief of the State Fire Brigade Association of the state of Hesse. “I believe that what has happened will make many people think and act,” about improving fire protection requirements at fire stations.

District Fire Inspector Lars Schafer said the operation was extremely emotionally stressful. “This is every firefighter’s nightmare. No one ever wants to have to put out their own fire station.”

Some 170 firefighters, including local volunteers, were brought in to tackle the blaze, which involved flames that climbed as high as 10 meters, according to witnesses.

The Hesse State Fire Brigade Association has called for an urgent review of the building regulations that allowed the station to be built without fire alarms. Discussions are also being held on whether a replacement fire station should have alarms installed, Schafer added.

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  Brand new fire station in Germany burned down after department’s electric vehicle caught fire, WorldTribune.com