As Firehouse Sees It: International Headlines Could Have a Local Effect

Monitoring international headlines throughout this year, a few that really caught my attention could have ramifications in the United States.

A fire at the Stadtallendorf fire station in Hesse, Germany, became an international topic of discussion in many circles after it came to light that the station was built without a fire alarm system. What shocked many was the fact that the station opened last year, yet those who were involved with the design claimed that there was no need for fire alarms.

Fire Inspector Lars Schäfer told The Guardian that the firehouse wasn’t required to have a fire alarm, because it was a municipal building that was classified to store equipment. The fire loss amounted to about 22 million euros ($23 million) of “equipment” that was stored inside of the 10-bay station, including a dozen emergency vehicles. A fire wall stopped flames before they spread to another section of the building, but the decision to not alarm the building means that the community is without dedicated fire protection for an uncertain period of time.

Of course, fires in firehouses happen in the United States, too. I wrote on the topic earlier this year. Since then, there have been a few more, but the majority of the stations are older and lack the basics of fire or smoke alarms and sprinklers that we ask citizens to install. Make no mistake, every station should be equipped with that built-in fire protection.

Another international headline of importance: An officer who is with Singapore’s Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) faces a prison sentence after he left a national serviceman (firefighter) alone inside of a burning building in 2022 and didn’t notify others. The 19-year-old serviceman was recovered. His SCBA cylinder was depleted. He later died at the hospital.

An investigation found that the agency experienced a few comparable incidents in the past. The SCDF has begun to revamp leadership and response policies. The equivalent of a safety officer now will respond to all fires; previously, such a person only responded to large-scale incidents for air management and accountability.

We have seen a handful of other lawsuits or charges in the past few years in which a member faced legal action after an incident in which a life was lost or a person was injured. Departments should look at available officer training, along with current response policies, to ensure that they reflect today’s operations and the level of experience, possibly requiring additional resources.

Over the summer, the London Fire Brigade announced that it no longer will respond to fire alarm activations in nonresidential buildings during daytime and evening hours unless a fire is reported from the premises. The fire brigade said that the time that otherwise would be spent responding to alarms will be used to enhance and grow its fire prevention programs.

Automatic fire alarms (AFAs) represent hundreds, if not thousands, of calls daily in the United States. The responses to them vary, from full assignments to a single engine without lights and sirens. I know a paid-on-call fire district that sends police officers to investigate first, to prevent members from responding to “nuisance” calls.

The alternative responses to AFAs remind me of a fire that I went to as a teenager. Effective Jan. 1 of the next year, a volunteer department only would send one engine to automatic alarms at a specific nursing home that consistently had false alarms. With Murphy’s Law, late on Dec. 31, an automatic alarm was received. That single engine arrived to find fire issuing from the windows and through the roof. Fortunately, resources arrived quickly to effect rescues and contain the fire.

This scenario that turned into a working fire at the nursing home was a one-in-a-million outcome, but departments still must be prepared.

Reflecting on these international stories, I hope that your department looks at current practices to see whether anything must be addressed. Policies don’t always need to change, but looking for areas to improve can save headaches down the road.