Fire regulations in Germany

One of the things that makes me nervous about my building is the single exit and the lack of fire extinguishers. There's no fire escape, smoke detectors, alarms or anything. I've considered getting a rope ladder for the windows just in case... I'm not sure where to get one though. I've wondered if the local fire department offers any advice on the subject, but haven't had the nerve to ask.

My office here, on the other hand, has no end of fire escapes, extinguishers, alarms etc. Apparently the regulations are different for residential or business buildings?

I visited our London office not so long ago and was horrified to notice that all exits were actually locked from the inside and outside. No exit without a key. I thought they should just go ahead and post a sign at each locked door to advise the bodies to pile up in an orderly que in case of fire...

What are the regulations anyway? Does anyone know? Are there any European norms?

And just how crowded can a disco here get before they consider it hazardous?

Email Brandschutz München and ask.
Bavarian Building Law (BayBO)
You can also get a fire safety assessment done by the local fire officer - contact the Brandschutz for more info. I've had it done and fitting a ladder isn't that necessary in my case due to the amount of roof access I have (according to them - I'm top floor in an Altbau and they showed me my exit routes) plus the nearness of my local fire service.
For breaches of fire regulations in the UK, contact the Health and Safety Executive.
UK fire regulations
It's also a really interesting and varied area of work.

The idea is that the fire department will use ladder trucks to evacuate people from the windows in case of a fire, so secondary exits for apartment buildings are only required where this is not possible - usually if the building is too high. This is why they need the fire lanes clear, and why blocking a fire lane could kill people.

Commercial buildings are required to have a lot of fire extinguishers and clear evacuation routes, though. We are regularly read the riot act for leaving boxes in the corridor at work.

A lot of people are now getting smoke detectors here, too. I think you can buy them from Conrad Electronic in Tal. Just remember to be careful when you burn a slice of toast at 4am, as my roommate was wont to do...

Have anyone ever had a firedrill in their building in Germany?

What about in the schools?

Being a Volunteer Fireman I can tell you. The regulations state not to burn things without a permit. Period.

My husband and I are arguing over the issues of fire protection and insurance. He is German, and feels that smoke detectors are a complete waste of plastic as houses never burn in Germany because they are not of wooden construction.
Secondly, he absolutely refuses that we should have any type of tenant contents insurance- the type that covers our posession in case of fire, theft, etc.- as it also is completely unnecessary and a total waste of money.

What is the norm here? Is he just being cheap and foolish or is this actually the way it is here? Do houses never burn and are insurance and smoke detectors only for those who wish to throw away money?
BTW, I am not paranoid of fire, nor do I live in fear of break-ins, earthquakes, floods or other acts of God.

Topics merged by admin

get a fire/smoke detector - it will save you from suffocating if there is a fire and nothing "burns to the ground".
Reminds me, we need batteries...

The German bank that I got my mortgage from requires me to have fire insurance of my house here...so I would say it´s pretty normal. I also had tenant contents insurance when I was renting. Your husband is not Swabian by chance? :-)

Swabian???

@pootle Yes. We did have a fire drill here at work.

10-15 Euros for something that could save your fucking life??? A waste of money???

Bricks take a lot of heat to burn. But tablecloths with a forgotten candle decoration don't take much to burn. Neither does then the table, the carpet, the curtains, etc etc.

I have a friend here whose entire flat contents were lost due to a short circuit of the wires. The rest of the flats in the building were fine, but his was gutted.

A smoke alarm is most definitely NOT a waste of money. I can't believe he's even questioning it, the tight-fisted ignorant dweeb. No offense kat_astrophy72, I'm sure he's a nice guy, but that's just stupid to save such little money when talking about your lives.

Swabians are known for their thriftiness. Personally, I would never want to risk my house or flat contents so I could save 100 or 200 € for insurance.

Exactly what I've been thinking, this is why we are arguing over it. I am a firm believer in both detectors and insurance, so I am just going to buy the detectors and put them up anyway. As for insurance, the battle is on.

he sounds like a clever one

aren't you moving soon anyway? Not that that will help of course if you have a house fire before moving

And just what does he think the roof of most buildings are made of? Metal?... All buildings regardless of building material have something in them that will burn and is toxic in some way. Spend the 20 Eur or whatever to get the detectors. Its a small price to pay for something that can save your ass.. A fire extinguisher is also good to have, esp for the kitchen where most fires start.

On a side note, my company tests it's Fire system/alarms every month with evacuation drills every 6 months (As required by the fire code, Fire Authorities and the Insurance Company)

Perhaps you could use this as an argument to get insurance. Look at this thread

Thread title: My roof was on fire this morning!
My roof was on fire this morning!

Yep, we're moving soon, which is what prompted this whole discussion. The tenancy agreement for our new flat in London has some clauses in it which pertain to smoke detectors and insurance.
My thinking is that the smoke detectors would just come with us as they are super easy to move/install.

My husband is otherwise an intelligent person. I am quite appalled at his attitude toward these issues.

@ kat_astrophy72 waiting to happen...

So all of your furniture, carpets, flooring, curtains and clothes are made of concrete then? No electricity at your place?

oooh dear, your husband sounds like a dangerous guy to share a place with. Unfortunately people with such an attitude learn the hard way...

That's it!!! Crawlie thank you for the awesome idea. I will simply replace all of our household furninshings to cement to get my point across.
Imagine how happy and safe my husband will feel- coming home from work to relax on his favourite slab of concrete drinking a warm beer.
Just one problem- Anyone free to help me carry in the new furniture?

My pleasure kat. Always keen to help!

Just get him smoke detectors for Christmas.

2 birds with 1 stone...

Brilliant idea! I love it! Hazza you're a genius.

Everytime I am in Kilians, I think about this. After the big nightclub fire in Rhode Island about 3 years ago, I have been ultra conscious of this and then noticed that every bar I seem to go into is in the basement and only has one exit. If there were a fire, people would instinctively head for the door they came into, which, in the case of Kilians, would mean a lot of people would probably die. So, as a result, I usually hang towards the door.

I can't believe the fire codes in Germany are so lax. It amazes me, really.

You go girl. You can buy smoke detectors for as little as €3.99 in OBI or Woolworths, so it's ridiculous not to have one. I've put them up in the 2 WGs that I've lived in here, to the bemused looks of my (German) housemates.

Not having insurance is another issue because the costs are higher than €3.99. But I would still be inclined to have it; it should also cover your possessions when not in the house, for example if your MP3 player gets pickpocketed or something.

To go back to the original topic about fire regulations, my first home here in Germany was a 9-storey student hostel and it also had no fire alarms, fire blankets, fire extinguishers, fire drills, fire escapes or anything else that might prove useful in the event of a fire - which was itself quite a likelihood, given the inventive cooking techniques of the predominately international students living there. Whoever posted the nonsense about buildings not needing fire escapes because the fire brigade will rescue people with their ladders should pay a visit to this place - 9 storeys with 18 rooms on each floor. They would need a lot of ladders.

Edit: And just remembered; in the UK smoking on escalators was banned in the late 1980s after a fire at Kings Cross started by a cigarette killed 31 people. Obviously German escalators are different

Below is from Showems profile!!
Interests : It's the holidays, I'm freshly wed and feeling kind. Send your PM and I will likely answer.

lol u go girl!!

Smoke detectors are so cheap, I never replace the batteries when they die, I replace the whole thing. Even including the 9v battery they are usually cheaper than the battery alone... You can't have too many...

YL6

True.

Reminds me of Changing a light bulb a little though

Scots Geeza, that is kind. I could have said don't worry about a smoke alarm because your life isn't worth saving. Now that would have been unkind!