A multi-million euro fire station has burned down in western Germany along with ten fire engines on the site because it didn’t have any fire alarms installed.

The new fire station, in Stadtallendorf, was hailed by the town’s local newspaper as a “modern, state-of-the-art” building when it opened last year.

But just months later, Stadtallendorf firefighters and others in the region found themselves in the embarrassing situation of trying to put out a blaze at their own premises.

According to Oberhessische Presse, the local newspaper, the fire station had not been fitted with fire alarms when it was constructed.

This was apparently due to the station being classified as an equipment storage location, which does not legally require the installation of fire alarms.

‘Nightmare for a firefighter’

“It is a nightmare for a firefighter. No one wants to have to extinguish his own fire station,” Lars Schäfer, the district fire inspector, glumly told reporters after firefighters failed to bring the blaze under control.

The fire has caused estimated damages of 20 million euros (£16 million) including the loss of ten fire engines. Some 170 firefighters, including local volunteers, were brought in to tackle the blaze, which involved flames that climbed as high as ten metres according to witnesses.