Fire in Munich's Westend: Fire brigade fights flames for two hours!

Fire in Munich's Westend: Fire brigade fights flames for two hours!

A fire in a five-story administration building in Munich's Westend district kept the fire department busy for several hours on Friday morning. At around 5:30 a.m., an employee of a security company noticed flames and smoke on the roof of a neighboring building and immediately called the fire department. This dispatched a fire engine, a special fire engine and the command service to respond as quickly as possible. On site, the emergency services confirmed the message on arrival and used a turntable ladder to lay a hose line on the roof, as access to the building was initially not possible.

The fire was fought on the roof using breathing apparatus. The fire alarm system was also activated and the emergency services were only able to tackle the fire after access to the building was opened. Ultimately, the fire was extinguished via the stairwell using a wall hydrant. Mainly burning insulation material delayed the extinguishing work, which took a total of around two hours and involved 40 firefighters. There is currently no information about the extent of the damage or the cause of the fire. The police have started an investigation and will look into the causes.

Fire department in constant operation

Such operations are not unusual for the Munich fire department. The city's firefighters are on duty almost every day and are available not only for fires, but also for rescue operations, natural disasters and animal emergencies. Another topic is the challenges imposed by the constantly increasing number of missions. As the Süddeutsche reports, the fire department recorded a record number of 100,928 missions in 2024. This corresponds to an increase of 25 percent compared to 2019.

The areas of application are wide-ranging, from door openings to major events such as the 2024 European Football Championship, which requires intensive preparations. In a remarkable case, on December 24, 2024, over 120 firefighters and 60 rescue workers had to evacuate all residents during a roof fire in a retirement home in the Lehel district.

Adapting to growing challenges

To meet the needs of the growing city, the construction of two new fire stations was announced. The fire department in Munich currently consists of the professional fire department and the volunteer fire department, which operate together under the direction of the fire department in the district administration department. Around 1,700 employees are active, including only 27 women.

In addition, a new training branch will be introduced in the control center from September 1, 2025, in which 20 young people, including eight from Munich, will be trained. In view of the statistically around 900,000 calls to the control center each year, of which every second citizen in Munich makes an emergency call once a year, this increase is urgently needed.

Overall, the current fire in Westend once again shows the challenges that the fire department faces every day. The Munich fire brigade is always ready to react quickly and professionally, even in critical situations, as the incident on Friday impressively proves. tag24 reports more on this.