The Düsseldorf Airport Blaze (Worst Airport Fire in History)
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- The in-depth documentary of the Düsseldorf Airport Fire Disaster 1996: The worst structural fire to have occurred in any commercial airport building.
As one of Germany's top airports and one of the 20 largest in Europe, Düsseldorf Airport is as busy as it can be. It is early afternoon of April 11 1996, and as usual, the arrivals are pouring in. The first level of Terminal A is swarming with passengers. While some wait for their luggage, others rush to departure gates to catch the next flight. Hundreds of people are in motion; they are unaware that hidden just 10 feet above them, a disaster is unfolding.
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These calls from the lounge made me really sad. They must have sat there, waiting for help and the only one who survived was the one who did exactly what they were told not to do.
Sounded like the 9/11 calls. They were told to wait for help too when in reality they were above impact zone and their death certificates had been all but signed. So damn tragic in both cases.
Same with the MV Seweol sinking, but at least the fire fighters were trying in this accident.
They tried smashing in the windows with armchairs for a really long time, but mostly became unconscious before they succeeded. Some of them worked for the same company my dad did.
Similar thing happened to a cruise ship filled with kids. Only those that did the opposite of what was told survived😥
@@arianamaria_ I know right? That last call was eerily similar to some of the 9/11 calls.
You can hear the quiet panik in the man's voice when he says 'wir brauchen Sie' - 'we need you'. Heartbreaking.
They do not know that the emercency exit is just down the stairs. No markings, no information. This places was planned as Olympic offices for worker/newspaper/author/etc. Later (around 1975) make them as VIP lounges for Lufthansa, Star Alliance, Air France, etc. what mean regular people and 1st class passengers. They have food and drinks for free without personnel since the 80's.
And the only response he got was "da".....
Das hat mir richtig Gänsehaut gegeben
The elevator door not closing due to the smoke makes so much sense yet i had never thought of it. Such an easy mistake to make, how tragic.
That is reason why when there is fire, you never use elevators.
The wires can short in the heat, including the fire department override switch, and the cab will be delivered directly to the burning floor. Never use elevators in a fire.
A commenter by the handle of @OnTourWithGerrit has said that the elevators at the airport now have sensors where they will operate but will only stop at floors and open the doors if that floor that has clear air. Great technology.
Easy? Has nobody ever told you to never use an elevator in an emergency?
@@signalsoldier28 I have to agree with your comment. Anyone who's lived in a city or been to an airport has used an elevator and has read the sign. And please, don't anyone try to warp this by saying, what about those that can't read. It is common knowledge that you don't use elevators if the building is on fire. That's why stairwells are made to be smoke and fireproof, so long as some idiot doesn't leave a door ajar so they can use the stairwell as a smoking room.
There is an important safety feature I only recently learned about: putting exit signs down closer to the floor where visibility is maintained for a longer period of time. It's based off numbers for apartments in some European states. Let's spread this around!
For a few decades this confounded me. It wasn't until 2003 that for the first time I saw exit signs placed at floor level. Progress.
Great idea
That’s been standard around here for a long time.
That is a requirement on ships
@@ElloImNoodle Hm? Please just tell me there aren't differences in numbering the floors like parts of Europe and the USA!
I consider the day of the fire my second birthday. I was returning at that very day with my business partner from a (quite frequent) trip to/from munich, to visit our biggest customer. Usually, we stayed overnight to have two days at the customers site, and on that occasion, we did not check in our suitcases but took them with us on the plane. So on that day, we did not have to wait to claim our luggage, but could instead leave the terminal building immediately.
That literally saved our lives, because we left mere minutes before the massive fire broke out. I still remember smelling the fire upon leaving, attributing the smell to kerosine from airplanes (the smell was not strong). We actually passed under the smoldering fire in the ceiling of level 1.
It still gives me goosebumps, when I realize how easy it is to get into a catastrophy, if you are actually in the wrong place at the wrong time. We missed that by a few minutes.
That was a whole decade of good luck used in one event, man.
You would have survived anyways, but yes it was a closer call than one would like
mostly i'm impressed that a 2 year old had a successful business with a partner. baller.
Wait... Wdym by "Second Birthday"?
@@bentheman69 he means that was the day he realized he could have died. A second chance at life if you will.
I can’t believe a whole airport terminal did not have smoke detectors. That is truly in unacceptable.
Yea, in my third-world country (Costa Rica), every remodeling work in every building or house MUST adapt the building to the new standards, most of which are the "not to happen again" actions that were finally made in Dusseldorf.
Its not like that anymore, all buildings have them now. But its tragic that it even was like that
I think the airport even had smoke detectors. But not inside the ceiling.
usally the dectors are below the lowered sealing and not above. this is still being used
Remember this was 1996.
The calls by the victims were eerily similar to calls from offices in the twin towers on 9/11. It’s horrifying and tragic and I hope they all have found peace in whatever comes in the next life
The London Grenfell Tower fire was way more recent and it was similar :(
Still surprises me that TSA doesn’t carry guns. You could literally carry an entire gang on a flight sure no weapons but they’ll be much more powerful
@@Us3r739 TSA agents are not police officers.
@@Us3r739 In tests the TSA failed to find 95% of hidden dangerous objects, TSA is, at best, security theater, while conventional intelligence, Air Marshals, and pre-flight arrests make out the bulk of prevented problems.
Yes but this wasn't done so that you could go into the Middle East and take all they're oil 911 didn't need to happen
I don't remember ever hearing about this tragedy. Thank you for making this video.
Same here. Terrible disaster and the blunders that caused people to lose their lives is inexcusable. RIP to everyone that perished.
Only heard of this after the BER airport embarrassment, where fire alarms didnt worked and grand opening delayed for a decade! Why was the fire thing a huge deal in BER? To prevent a tragedy like this. Took a decade because someone fixed eith wrong wires smh
Yep, since the Düsseldorf Airport fire we are a bit paranoid about firesafety in airports.
Grenfell also showed that firesafety in buildings is no joke. Every built in protection that delays a fire and halts smoke buys you precious seconds to save your skin and drag your body to safety. Every person that is able to evacuate on their own power is a massive relieve for the rescue effort plus speeds up the firefighting (rescue and firefighting are two fronts in the same war and you never have enough staff for both)
Didnt hear about it too. Live 60km from this Airpot away. Born 98
Ik me neither unit now
How many times does a guy doing some welding cause a major disaster, seems to happen all the time
A few years ago, one of the buildings at my university had a major fire, caused by contractors working on the roof at the time. I can't find anything about it now, but it came up in my fire warden training and I think it was linked to tar being applied to the roof? Not quite welding but certainly careless hot works. Luckily the whole building was closed for refurbishment so nobody was injured.
@@caitthenerd7470 Same thing happened in 1987 at Dutch museum 'New Land Informationcenter' roofworks were being done causing the entire museum to burn down.
And of course the major fire of Notre Dame in Paris a few years ago.
I was a children's librarian in NH while a big library addition was being built just past a plastic sheet. Choking Welding fumes frequently penetrated the children's department. We closed and evacuated the children's dept several times.
Welding is an important technology that needs to be used in many places. The problem just is that it involves very high temperatures and would require the supervisor/foreman to arrange for there to be someone present who knows more about the building (like what random exposed object is made of flammable materials) and about fire safety. That of course costs extra time and money, so normally it's just assumed that everything will be OK. But of course, as usual, when anything goes wrong, it's apparently the welders fault, as if they could decide what to weld and where. The workers are normally just doing what the higher-ranking (and in theory more informed) people tell them to.
@@SmartassX1 Are they secretly already calculating how much the fire insurance will pay out if anything goes wrong?
I mean, to have work on the roof done, the followings is usually collected on top:
- bottles of gas (highly flammable);
- loads of tar (burns the best once ignited);
- a variety of types of wooden structural supports and beams;
- planned and executed in the middle of Summer of course, when the sun is at its hottest and brightest;
What could ever go wrong?
My dad was one of the volunteer Firefighters in Action during that Disaster back then. Although I wasn't yet alive back then, he told me some stories about this. He was at the airport for the entire day and night. He did not recover any dead people but he told me how everyone at the scene felt incredibly hopeless trying to contain the fire. It was really a tragic mess what happened.
Hut ab für den Papa
respect
Dein vater hat meinen respekt.
Evtl. in der Löschgruppe 15 (Kaiserswerth)?
At least your Father tried his best, I'm sure,the same cannot be said for some.
I grew up in Germany and learned as a child to avoid elevators when in the presence of a fire. Very sad.
I loved Germany I grew up in Lahr und Baden. I was just watching a video of an A340 trip from this airport to Zurich. Fire terrifies me I've been through two. My place burnt on Feb first this year. Just now getting normalized, again.
I learned this from the movie The Towering Inferno. Possibly saved my life on 9/11 cuz I went straight for the stairs ...
What would you do if the elevator were the only option? If stairs were on fire and no window to break? I guess you would have a try with the elevator, won't you?
We don't know why these people tried the elevator but I don't think they were all fools.
@@verabolton Why are you making up hypothetical scenarios to defend using elevators during an emergency...?
@@MrDK0010 Why are you so willing to judge people's action in emergency without knowing what was the exact situation when they made that decision?
I'm challenging those who talk negatively about people who're not able to defend themselves because they're dead.
This is one reason why Willy Brandt Airport (Berlin) took so long to open. Too many questions about its fire systems and no one wanted to chance a repeat of this happening.
another reason is because they ripped off the tax payer because thats a tradition in germany
Nobody except the owners, designers and installers, who seemingly didn't give a shit about fire safety 😅
Nahh buddy
it's just because of complete inability and corruption which is normal for the city of Berlin. Berlin is the master Shithole of Germany. Nothing there works but they love to burn money.
to be fair that’s by far not the only reason 😅so many stupid mistakes were made there
There were not to many "questions about the fire systems"! It took so long because they failed to fullfill most common fire protecting regulations! ( like the thing about installing non-autiomatic fire doors )
A close friend of mine is working for the airport nowadays, he says that over the years the Düsseldorf airport has become one of the safest places to be if a fire breaks out. They have many extra security set ups that aren't legally required, as well as their own firestation with specially trained firefighters. To be exact, these firefighters are specialized to put out airport or plane fires. Aiports around the world try to emulate Düsseldorfs security system they are forrunners now
Just a little side note, the emergency number in Germany is 112 for fire service and ambulance. (110 is police)
With starts of mobile phones and smartphones it is equal what do you call, all numbers 911, 000, 999, 112, 110, 009, ... all works. Most without SIM-card too. Specially Nokia. So do you need in Germany a SIM-card inside since 2011 for an emercency call!
I believe 112 is the universal emergency number and so it works everywhere, the US (as usual) is one of the last to adopt it.
@@krashd 911 also is, even 108 and other local emergency numbers work. If someone calls 108 for example, the call gets redirected to 112 if the local number is 112.
@@krashd let me guess, you're one of those "metric is better because that's what everyone told me" people.
@@OldLordSpeedy Careful with that. The only number that guarantees that an emergency call is made (i.e. the phone and base stations use the maximum possible radio power and other calls are cleared to free up frequencies) in GSM-based networks is 112. Smartphones generally detect those other numbers and initiate an emergency call for them, too, but that is a bonus added by the manufacturer.
With a "dumb phone" you could call e.g. 110 and still be connected to the emergency center if the cell network you're connected to has a route for that number. It, however, would be a normal phone call with no priority.
“Can we smash a window?” If theirs a fire that threatens my life I’m not waiting for permission.
The General Alarm (Evacuation) should have been sounded at the start, when fire was evident by ALL THE SMOKE. That alarm was not sounded until the ceiling collapsed. This is another example of placing profit above Safety - the desire to not interrupt operations.
!!!!!!! this
Yes. A little fire can turn into a big one really fast. Evacuate people. Better alive and angry than dead.
@@grmpEqweer Yes! And: Even dead people get angry. (Their loved ones.)
I would not generally say this is an example of profit above safety. Although it sure may have impacted "voluntary" measures. It is more an example about how awarenes to certain dangers and risks and with that, mandatory equipment and safety standards have evolved over time. It is the same as with seatbelts in cars. Sadly very often awarenes to what should be done is only created by desaster. And I am afraid, to a certain degree (something we simply cannot think about yet as a possibility) this will happen in the future as well. Allthough it is less likely, as over history a lot of lessons had ben learned and influence building today compared to building just a few decaes ago. But I am very certain, we did not think of and capture all possibilities for man made desaster yet. Not to mention of course neglegence and "creative maintenance" to keep things running that may happen anywhere anytime with humans involved.
It wasn't so much an issue of profit as it was a lack of preplanning and proper training and protocols. There weren't good preplans for when to trigger a General Alarm, for what a proper default response from the City Fire should be, for when City should be activated, what they should bring, etc. It was a lot of squishy and vague decision points without proper training or response plans that ate up a ton of time very early when the fire could have been better contained and people could have been more safely evacuated. And these failures were widespread across the whole network of management and responders. It was a problem that seemingly nobody had given any real thought to or done much training and preplanning regarding. Which was really very shocking for 1996.
It's misleading to show the emergency services as 911. This is NOT the number to call in Germany (112). If you just say 'Emergency Services' that is explanatory for ALL countries. Remember there are probably far more people watching this outside the US than inside it.
I agree, 911 is only US, the whole of Europe uses 112….
@@Overwijn01 911 will work aswell ^^
@@Overwijn01 Expect City of Vatican - they use *GOD* only ...
@@Overwijn01 not the whole of Europe. The UK uses 999.
So you are now adding to the misinformation.
@@Overwijn01 Your comment as well as the original are still wrong about 911. All of North America and parts of South America uses that as the emergency number, not just the U.S.
I grew up and still live very close to the airport. An still, 25 years later, the groundwater in the area is still contaminated due to the amount of extinguishing foam used to get the fire under control.
Echt? Findet das sich 'nur' im Grundwasser oder auch in den Gärten wieder?
Ähhhh...nicht ganz. Ja, Das Grundwasser ind Flughafennähe ist AFFF (Sprich A3F, so heißt das Schaummittel) kontaminiert, das kommt aber nicht vom Flughafenbrand, da wurde so gut wie gar nicht mit Schaum gelöscht, das macht bei der Gebäudebrandbekämpfung im Innenangriff auch kaum Sinn. Die Kontamination stammt von Zahlreichen Löschübungen und Schaumteppichen, die früher oft präventiv bei Sicherheitslandungen gelegt wurden und dann neben dem Rollfeld und der Start/Landebahn in den Boden gesickert sind. Das ist nicht nur in Düsseldorf so, sondern an jedem großen deutschen (und auch anderen) Flughafen.
it will always be contaminated the chemicals they used are considered forever chemicals
Grüße aus Ratingen
Das Grundwasser wurde doch durch die Übungen der Flughafenfeuerwehr kontaminiert und nicht durch die Löscharbeiten am Flughafen.
It always infuriates me when I hear people using elevators during emergencies! The worst I've heard was when a group of 7 people got in one of the Costa Concordias elevators mid sinking where they drowned after the ship lost power.
You're what's known as an armchair quarterback
honestly that just sounds like darwin at work
That part of the video, however, was incorrect. The people did not run to the elevators as they saw the smoke but just used them calmly as they hadn't even realized what was happening. The horribly unprepared airport staff failed to start an evacuation, inform people via speakers or, most tragically, turn off the elevator systems on time. At the beginning of the blaze, only level 1 of terminal A was on fire, the rest of the airport continued to operate as no one was informed of anything at first. So, the people in the elevators were simply unaware of the fire and were surprised when the doors opened and filled the cabin with thick black smoke. Tragic
In many high rises, express elevators are fire reenforced and a part of both the evacuation procedures and firefighting efforts. In modern buildings, it's as likely that you aren't supposed to use the elevators to stay out of the fire department's way, as it is for evacuation safety. If you don't know the building, take the stairs, but elevators aren't automatic death traps in a fire.
@@Knaeckebrotsaege Only if they hadn't bred yet ;)
Polystyrene, some people call it solid gasoline.
Im amazed anyone was ever allowed to build with that shit. Their were probably concerns about just this happening from its inception.
@@Denozo88 as said in the video, it was installed illegaly.
@@thoges5040 Their was one he discussed was put their legally.
The important thing is that Polystyrene is CHEAP and we ALL Know That
Capitalism values Financial Profit over Human Life !!!
Whatever else must happen, The Rich MUST Keep Getting Richer !!!
Pretty sure it’s brought down a plane or two as well. Possibly an Air France or Swiss air if I remember correctly. A circuit shorted and the polystyrene within the plane burned so hot that even if the electrics hadn’t failed and the plane had been able to make it to land, they would’ve all burned to death long before. Scary stuff 😥
I‘d love to see a video about the love parade disaster in Duisburg, Germany in 2010. A massive crush occurred with 21 people dead and 650 injured. There’s lots of footage of it as well. Sadly no one was charged even though the outcome was 100% preventable
Who loves parades?
My fiance was there and just survived because he got fed up with the people and fought through the crowd onto the autobahn. He saw people dying once he was up there.
@@hamatoJade My friend and her now husband were also there, stuck against the wall in the under passage. She was traumatised after, when she described what she'd seen. I was meant to go but had to fly home from Düsseldorf airport that day.
@Game Plays 1230 it‘s sadly the case in Germany. Tax evasion can get you 10 years in jail, animal abuse or p*dophilia only can get you 2-5 years in jail. Not everything is good in Germany, I‘d rather move to Switzerland or Sweden (especially in Sweden, if you can speak English, you‘ll have less problems than in Germany).
@ sweden is now nr.4 in crime index in europe (worse than romania) so they certainly got problems of their own there
This is a really tragic example of why you need proper safety protocols when doing "hot work." Hot work is welding, grinding, anything that makes sparks. I remember reading about this in a fire-fighting book as a kid. The boot prints in the soot are something I will not forget.
they should be in prison for gross negligence
you think proper safety protocols arise out of nothing?
tragedy like this create them.
many many people died troughout times for your modern and "safe" life.
Don´t you ever forget that again! ;P
I don't know man, of course hot work requires a lot of safety precautions, but let's be real here, anyone acting like they would double check if a road is flammable is a liar.
This episode was very interesting to make, a topic recommended by one of you. You can submit topic ideas at bit.ly/DarkHistoryTopics
your pronounciation of düsseldorf is impressive! great job, interesting video, well made.
And I was happy to hear the word "comprises" used correctly. Thank you!
In Germany such trials ALWAYS end in acquittals. Because the standard is to show the individual guilt, which is of course useless when a series of wrongdoings caused everything. Same with the Loveparade, the case was eventually dismissed.
Right, blue pepper
The Swiss Cheese model of accidents. Roughly put, all the holes have to line up.
Sloppy safety practices, poor safety equipment, and badly designed buildings (among other things) provide the holes.
Highly flammable insulation causes a massive fire, many dies, nobody is responsible. Sounds painfully familiar.
Lessons are never learnt, the same mistakes are made again and again and nobody is held responsible. Money speaks, lives don't matter.
Other countries also usually end up acquitting most or all responsible.
Thank god Hitler and the rest of the Nazis didn't go on trial in Germany. They would've been a aquited too.
As soon as you said the weird smell thing I knew it would be polystyrene. The smoke is terribly thick and nasty. Seems like it’s nearly always the culprit in large building fires.
Foam rubber I learned from experience and fire training is also a major producer of caustic toxic smoke, in houses and more: From burning and smoldering couches, stuffed chairs... And fiberglas insulation, esp in a mobile home, while supposedly fire resistant includes lots of plastic fibers: It burns rapidly between mobile home walls. FD taught me a mobile home will burn down in 15 minutes, while also being choked by toxic smoke.
Very much like the polyurethane packaging foam used to soundproof the walls of The Station nightclub, which contributed to the fire that killed 100 people.
@@AdhamOhm there's footage post fire where the results of an investigation are shown and they ahowed how quickly that foam burned up and the smoke was insane
Ages ago in my town a large warehouse full of polystyrene packaging materials (mostly the small peanuts but also larger flat pieces) and the smoke/smell was bad.
As someone, who made his vocational training and further works at the Airport Düsseldorf directly, i can confirm, that today the fire safety is on a very high standard.
E.g. I tested dozends of Elevators at the Airport. If there is a smokealarm triggered o a specific floor, the Elevator will then continue to a safe floor for evacuation.
Thera are arrows on the floor, which will light up in a smoke event and guide you to the nearest or safest exit.
Firetraining is as well a mandatorything for every worker, who work for the Airport itsself.
@OnTourWithGerrit Thanks for that first-hand observation. The arrows on the floor seem to have been drawn straight out of standard passenger aircraft requirements. A very good idea for ALL buildings I believe. I worked in airfreight and dangerous goods handling during the 90s and even almost became an airport firefighter. The only thing that stopped me was that as part of the employment contract you had to be willing to move to different airports. I was in my 30s with a young family by then, so declined the offer (well, my ex did). I really like the introduction of 'smart' elevators too. Another brilliant safety feature.
Fucking better be after a shit show like this... ffs
Are you an elevator tech? Your job sounds cool, whatever it is!
Still not adequate!
@@JasonLihani no, but I had my final practical exam at an elevator and I went through a few department during my time as a trainee.
6:30 this man was not french meaning he died. His "we need you" was heartbraking
My dad knew some of the people in the Air France Lounge. It was a group of German, Belgian and French colleagues. They tried smashing in the windows for such a long time. But the windows were too stable and didn’t break. There was also nothing else heavy or sharp enough to throw against the windows except for armchairs. It was so exhausting, they used too much air and it’s so sad that most of them fell unconscious before they could escape.
As a child I loved DUS airport. It was our “home base”. We started so many nice holidays there. When I was older and learned about the fire, it felt weird, especially because this fire happened one day after my birth.
thats why there are emergency tools to break windows, couldve saved their lives...
NEVER, ever ever get on an elevator in a building that’s on fire! I of course don’t blame the victims for not knowing that. Spread the word.
Absolutely is the fault of the victims. Every elevator in every developed country has signs... both outside and inside the elevators clearly stating to not use them during a fire.
@@ShainAndrews There was no aktive Fire Alert on the Parking level. The Victims in the elevators didn't know there was a fire.
There are certain exceptions - but those are clearly labeled on site. In certain skyscapers, it can be infeasible to get down by stairs, because that takes way too long, especially for someone with i.e. a disability. And carrying someone down 100+ floors is also not exactly easy. These than have special, fire-resistant elevators with emergency backup power and other protection systems in place.
I mean…they were under a ton of stress!they probably weren’t thinking straight and just panicked
I blame the victims. Fortunately, they removed their mutations from humanity willingly.
When I worked as a welder, fire was something I was always thinking of. But the only fire I ever started was setting my own prosthetic leg on fire.
How did you put out the fire in your prosthetic leg? That sounds like a good story too.
@@carlcushmanhybels8159 Fire extinguisher.
if you were in a movie your leg would have instantly exploded in a giant fireball and it would've looked awesome. and then like the leg would've gone flying through the air and impaled the bad guy to the side of an airplane, which would have immediately taken off and dropped him out of the sky. and also we would've thought you were dead until you crawled out of the fireball and the bad guy's body landed right in front of you and you said something like "looks like i got a leg up on you" or "don't break a leg" or something. hell yeah, freakin' sweet.
@@ElTurbinado "A leg up on you" works better I think.
I was watching a video by a woman who is a left leg amputee. She was showing how she can change the foot on her leg so she can wear high heels.
I commented, "Wait, you have 2 left feet?"
@@erictaylor5462 😂
Huh. I've flown from Düsseldorf many times, and consider myself pretty informed about local history, but I've never heard about this before. I'll take a closer look around next time I'm there. Thanks for this video!
There also a Memorial for this Tragedy in the Airport. You can find it by following the signs.
Ich erinnere mich gut, ich war damals 12. Bin von Düsseldorf aus vor 29 Jahren (krass, dass das schon so lange her ist...) in den Urlaub geflogen und war später mit unserer Mutter auf der Aussichtsterrasse, die damals auf dem Hauptgebäude war. Als das passierte, habe ich es zu Hause über die Nachrichten erfahren und es hat mich schockiert.
Heute ist nicht viel vom alten Flughafen übrig, wenn man mit dem Sky Train vom Flughafenbahnhof zum Terminal fährt, steht an einer Stelle aber noch die alte Fassade.
@@wetterfrosch1984 War mal in den 80ern zum Gucken mit meinem Vater am Flughafen. Erinnere mich noch wie teilweise verwinkelt es damals war.
I remember being a kid arriving in DUS and wondering why we were sent into tents instead of the terminal. My parents told me renovations... Learned the real story a few years ago. What a tragedy.
I was a student at Jack and Jill School in Ghana at the time you know.
That phone call from the business lounge was both very tragic and very chilling. It makes me wonder how many people have died in fires around the world because they were told to stay put by the operator, and did so. Grenfell Tower in London is a particularly tragic example of how the wrong advice given over the phone can cause dozens or even hundreds of unnecessary deaths and injuries. If I have learned anything from all these disaster videos is that staying put because someone on the end of the phone tells you to is VERY rarely the right move. Trust you instincts and if they are screaming get out....GET OUT!
I watched a German doc a few years ago in which they also interviewed the caller. He still had his mobile phone, because it saved his life.
This disaster made my dad want to get me and my siblings out of our block of flats in case a fire broke out while we were in the lift - fortunately we only lived on the second floor although we'd still get the lift to get passed the LG, UG and first floor. A fire did take place in our flat at one point but fortunately each flat was engineered to contain a fire within itself and not spread to other doors - we left and moved into a house in 2002 but the news of the Dusseldorf disaster really haunted our dad.
Blaming the welders is a bad policy. It should be assumed that ignition sources will allways find a way to exist in a building. If not welding then smoking or an electrical fault will exist. Large public buildings should be made without an abundance of combustible materials.
It is procedural process for “hot work” which requires for all personnel involved to be thoroughly trained and knowledgeable !
difference between a genuine mistake, where a certain risk isn't documented or taught in training, and gross negligence of public safety, this case is very clearly the latter.
@@superspecialty5169 Seems like the flammable parts weren’t visible and illegally placed.
@@superspecialty5169 9:27
I'm working as an engineer in an EMC lab. I was told a story once, that the fire at Düsseldorf airport caused the implementation of radiated emission limits up to 300MHz (in CISPR15 etc.) some years later: Before the firefighters could start to fight the fire they had to turn off the electrical mains supplies. But turning off the mains triggered the emergency-lights that disturbed the radios of the fire brigades and the police.
Interesting
I live in Düsseldorf and I remember that horrible day... I was at home and suddenly we heard all those sirens from the fire brigade and we knew that it had to be something bigger than just a fire in a house or whatever. It's so sad what happened at the airport!
112 instead of 911*
Great footage! I found you from watching "Fascinating Horror"'s channel. He's a cool dude.
Nett mal was deutsches hier zu sehen, auch wenn der Anlass selbstverständlich schrecklich ist.
Klasse Channel!
Der Kannal hat schon über viele deutsche sachen berichtet
@@Nokknokkopenup dann bin ich noch nicht lang genug dabei 😂
No Bueno
@@Nokknokkopenup auf zum Binge Watching Marathon!
@@LcBoy131 Dann Schau dir ruhig mal die älteren videos an die sind alle sehr gut
Rest In Peace to those people that died
In the aftermath of the fire, I got to work 2 months at the Cologne/Bonn Airport, which had to pick up a lot of slack from D'dorf, because other than stated in the video, it took them weeks to get even remotely back to normal capacity.
Using Styrofoam as insulation is absolutely crazy.
Although it is sad 17 people died its good the fire department responded so quickly and saved so many others.
17 people too many
@@joelsterling1445 Yes, it's always sad but out of like 8 thousand ppl, it was really brave
It's "Lufthansa", not "Luthfansa". You are spelling it wrong throughout the whole video.
I'm sick of guilty people getting by with their negligence. It only happens with those who have plenty of money to give to defense attorneys who could make the most rotten criminal look like a saint. I feel so sorry for the families that lost loved ones. May they somehow find peace even through this travesty of justice.
AGREED!!! 😎
Yeah I'm confused why the ceiling was made of such flammable material? And open to the elements especially below a highway or a street
@@WhitneyDahlin like the Video said: It was illegal??
yeah absolutely disgusting how these welder , construction site formen and engineer billionaires always get away with their plenty of money and international star attorneys...
@@WhitneyDahlin I’m not sure but maybe that material wasn’t illegal at the time the Airport was build. in Germany there are many old houses which have illegal material in their walls and roofs. Of cause it’s not quite comparable but that would be my first guess
The online positive side of this tragedy is that it lead to a large investment of the Düsseldorf fire Departement in Equipment and training and a massive revolution of german safety and construction laws. I work at a german fire department and this event is regarded as a turning point for modern fire safety! Thanks for this Video!
The amounts of times I’ve been through this airport from the late 1970,s until a few years ago and I never knew how devastating this fire was, my wife and I always stop off in the terminal for a coffee before getting the train, that’s how easily you can become a statistic
I already knew about this, since I am an apprentice at the airport and within the first week there we watched a 40 minute documentary about it, but very good summary of this tragic event. Luckily you can say that nowadays fire prevention and fire detection is on a high standard. The airport now has over 30000 fire detectors all over the different airport buildings, the elevators are controlled, so that they will not go to a floor where a fire was detected and there are smoke extraction systems to keep escape routes clear. Though it is still sad that there always has to happen something serious before saftey is improved.
Thank you for learning how to pronounce "Düsseldorf" before making a video about it. I find it to be hard watching an educational video using a German word 5+ times and always mispronouncing it.
Lost one of my best friends in the Air France Lounge. No personnel, no security measures. Nothing. He was the caller and he died at the doorstep, close to succeeding in getting out there. One French man managed to smash a window and fell deep, he was injured severely. What a tragedy, a chain of unfortunate events combined with a lot of incompetence on the part of Düsseldorf Airport and the unprepared Fire Fighters.
Lol i just came back from driving my mom to that very airport. Never knew that fire had happened.
German emergency call number isnt 911 ist 112 please this annoys me so much
(5:05) Willful ignorance and refusal to proactively provide assistance resulted in the deaths of eight people in the Air France lounge.
Or was the fire brigade simply too stupid for the tasks for which they are paid?!? Maps are available on almost every corner of an airport...
That awkward moment when you see a video about a disaster story of something where you have lived close to for the most part of your life, but have never heard of the actual disaster.
right? I live near Düsseldorf and traveled many times through that airport, never once heard about that disaster
Ilegally installed flammable insulation -> "accident could not be traced to any specific wrongdoing" 🤔🤔🤔
You have to have a paper trail or everyone is saying that they didn't do it.
I hadn’t heard of this before. I know you’re not supposed to use elevators in a fire but didn’t know why until now.
I’m a little miserable from a cold I caught on a work trip and having to wake up at 3AM to catch my flight home but glad I didn’t have to deal with this in my medication-induced fogginess.
Just as on planes, when you’re in the airport, Know Your Exits
Know your airports
I hope you feel 100% better very soon. 🙏❤️
Another more direct reason not to use an elevator during a fire is in case power is cut off due to a fire. It could be the same result where the elevator is stuck between floors, and smoke pours into the elevator shaft with tragic results. I would not have even thought of the smoke messing with sensors, but have always noticed the warning signs to NOT take an elevator. I know that people in a panic will do all kinds of counter-intuitive things opposite of safety, but I am pretty sure I would not be one of them. My guess is from the roof of the parking structure, the fire did not seem too bad.
For Lufthansa, you just have to flipflop the t and the h and you'll have the right spelling. I know it sounds like your spelling on the recording, but it's the way I spelled it.
BREAK. THE. DAMNED. WINDOWS. JESUS! What kind of sociopath says "there's a massive fire and it sounds like you cannot get out, but please don't break the windows?" 😡
Might result in a flow of fresh air into the building, fanning the flames and making things quickly much worse. A fire smouldering in a room, all hot, will often flash over if you open the door and allow a gust of oxygen-rich air in. If you can escape without contributing fresh air, you should.
it was security glass windows. You need a sledgehammer to break this windows.
I will never understand how HIGHLY FLAMMABLE materials can be installed in buildings and aircraft without being considered criminal negligence.
No single defendent... ❓❓❓ That means ALL DEFENDENTS are guilty. Especially the welders... And the airport superiors who were supposed to arrange for fire crew to be on watch during the works... Were the victims' families ever compensated? How frightening.
My Fathers Girlfriend died on that day. We still have contact to her Mother. I could Ask if she got compensated in any way. But I dont know if she wants to answer. She normally doesnt like to Talk about it as well as my Father. But I could give it a try
People… please never EVER use the elevator in case of a fire!
I live in Cologne and departed a few times from Düsseldorf without knowledge of this disaster. Thanks for letting me know though, in my opinion Düsseldorf is one of the nicest and most modern airports in europe.
Rules are written in blood. I worked in Shanghai’s subway HVAC systems near those insulations. Any welding (soldering included) requires a “fire-usage” permit issued by the operators, and work is permitted during hours opened for passenger, except emergency. The paper must shown to station personal before work and a watcher trained by fire department always need to be present and must have a valid license. Hopefully these regulations can prevent similar case in future.
Can I just add the 911 operator telling the caller not to smash the windows if possible was a good call as changing air flow to fires can rapidly change the size and direction the fire, smoke, and heat travel and can lead to back drafts. Potentially not in this circumstance but it's good practice.
Thanks. Was looking for that comment!
But I guess he should have been more specific and saying smth lile "if there is no other way out, break them."
The number firefighters at this blaze were almost as many fdny firefighters were at the telephone company exchange fire February 26 1975
Small fun fact: The main contributor that lead to the many opening delays of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport was it's fire systems. They don't fuck around with fire safety in airports since that Fire
Shortest joke: german justice
I dont remember hearing about this at all. What a horrible thing to go through. My sons father used to do a thing called insuclading, which is where the outside of a building is covered in a type of polystyrene sheet & spray on plaster & inside is insulating fluff. I was always nervous about buildings done in this stuff because of the polystyrene, especially in the early days.
"when it comes to people's lives... there is no price too high" - you missed out the "to ensure we avoid any charges of industrial homicide or guilty verdicts in law suits". There is always a safety device/process/material which is priced too high - everything is made to be "safe enough from a legal standpoint", not "as safe as it could be"
Exactly. Nothing can be made "as safe as it could be" - it would be way too expensive. It's hard to find a balance between reasonable risk and financial cost especially when those who make the money know they'll never be held responsible - hence they'll always chose money over safety.
What makes me really sad that some things are never learnt, so many lives have been lost since this fire due to flammable isolation in the Western world. 20 years were not enough for the Brits to learn not to save money on cheap, flammable isolation (see Grenfell Tower) and nobody is ever held responsible. Those who make the big money on the cost of other's lives live happily and freely and getting more and more rich.
Oh no this is awful.
Usually fires can be traced to a very specific event as it’s cause. People responsible for its start, even if accidental would be changed forever :(
They did trace to the welders igniting the polysterine. The problem was that the polysterine was places there illegally.
So who exactly was to blame? That really was the issue for who to blame for the start of the fire.
Then, who made the decision not to train the airport firefighters for terminal fires but just plane fires?
Etc
It was a mixture of errors and failings, so was any one person on trail responsable for the tragedy?
The answer was no, not personally, but if I wanted to point the finger at anyone, I would place most of the blame on whomever instructed to illegal install the polysterine.
@@tkralva.6668 I'd agree. The polystyrene wasn't supposed to be there, so the welders can't have been expected to identify it as a risk factor. While it is possible that they could have identified the risk and countered it, that would have been beyond the scope of their knowledge. Welders tend not to be formally educated about building insulation.
Wow, it's a good thing the people in *Germany* managed to call *911* and tell them what happened!
Düsseldorf is one of my favourite airports. Not too big not too small.
The number of times you hear of welders causing a fire is way too many times.
Europe moment
just want to say, its Lufthansa, not Luthfansa (multiple times) :)
Never expect anyone to come rescue you…..go with your instinct….
It sounds like the 911 operators were so incompetent. Just "Okay, yeah" on the phone. Like, do something. I know you don't know the airport, but at least offer up something to help people.
Never even heard of this… Until your video! So sad that in the end its always Money that gets people killed because either they don’t want to pay for the safety measures or something else dumb!
When running from a fire don’t use an elevator (lift in Europe)!
Holy crap, this was a super gnarly fire. The story about the people that used the elevator and went down to the first floor, only for it to open up to red hot flame and nasty toxic smoke that blocked the sensors from allowing the doors to close is freaking terrifying and awful. The whole thing was awful.
Thank god for firefighters.
Elevators are something you never go near in a fire, in fact you should avoid them in just about any disaster since they are prone to become traps.
Wow! You can tell it's the airline industry when they can brag about being up and running in three days but nobody is responsible for any of the deaths. Guess there wasn't a high enough body count to hold management accountable, just the cost of doing business 🙄
Ooh, _this_ is why Germany has that airport that's never been opened, and has sat vacant for years and years. You'd think one would consider consulting existing safety code during the design phase, before spending billions and it's completely finished. I guess when it's on the taxpayer's dime...
Do you mean Berlin Airport? It's open now.
It took a lot more time to build, because the wishes from the city changed a lot. Few weeks befor the opening the learned that due to the changes the cable canals was so packed, that they would caused a fire hazard.
The architect was shamed and fired, but it wasn't his fault. He was so pissed, that he thew all the plans away - what was legally okay, because it was his property 😂
So they had to start the fixing of the airport with literally absolut no plan.
Still was faster than the builing of the Cologne cathedral, which took hundreds of years 😁
This airport has literally nothing to do with Berlin airport. Also a yank is the last person who should be judging what tax payer cash is wasted on since you guys can fritter away tens of billions on magical ships that don't work or use tax payer cash to buy a new stadium for a billionaire's sports team. Listening to one of you criticise what someone else does with their taxes is like hearing Ted Bundy call Uber a danger to women.
@@krashd Do you mean Airport Kassel? Former Kassel-Calden?
It's working. But it was a bs investment.
From what I've heard, the Berlin Airport fire system would've almost been a catastrophe in the making as well. Since it was almost non-functional, they actually planned to station people around to manually trigger the alarms... Only a single local politician found that inadequate and demanded they fix it properly, thankfully.
If breaking a window in a fire ever crosses your mind as a real option, then don't ask and just do it. Even if they come and save you before it was necessary to jump out and escape, I can't really see that as an overreaction when you're literally trapped in a building that is on fire. One way or another the system has already failed you in that moment, so you're not obligated to put any further trust in it when your life is on the line
Even this was a tragedy, we learned so much from it.
Fire detection systems who can manage whole building-systems (elevators, windows, smokefree emergency staircases, closing down airvents and air conditioning and so on...).
New rules for planning and construction of large buildings. I worked at security in the MAIN TOWER in Frankfurt, which in 1999 when it opened was the most modern and safest building in Europe in terms of fire protection. Without Düsseldorf, who knows how many tragedies there would have been...
Man, those calls were as bad as the WTC calls on 9/11 😟
It's spelled Lufthansa not Luthfansa
I live in The Netherlands and Germany is our neighbor. I am surprised that there was so much negligence, since Germany has even stricter building codes than The Netherlands.
This was just like the Rhode Island “Great White” concert at “The Station” nightclub in 2004. The pyrotechnics lit the highly combustible sound insulation on fire and there was a “flashover” which basically engulfed the whole building in flames and, dripping hot liquid styrene over everybody below, killing and injuring many people. If the fire didn’t get them, the smoke and fumes did. A “flashover” is when burning gases in a confined space build up and finally ignite, creating an explosion of fire, incineration everything in that space almost instantly.
PLEASE , When You Make This Kind Of Video Then Please Show AGE Apropriate Pictures Not Saying Its 1996 And Show 2020 Mercedes Benzes :D
Work More To Get That Feeling Man, Cmon.
“Can we break the window we can’t breath“
“If possible don’t do that“ wtf?
because of the potential to cause a flashover from the new supply of oxygen they just created by smashing the window, feeding the fire
Between this and Grenfell, modern building construction seems to have a habit of letting what should be small problems kill copious amounts of people.
Yesterday, I suddenly remembered this, I don't know why. Btw- greetings from Düsseldorf!
This is why when there is fire in the building. NEVER EVER use the elevator!
It doesn't matter at all, but you used a misspelling of "Lufthansa" throughout.
It is "Luft" and "Hansa", which are typically combined in the German language as a portmanteau to "Lufthansa".
The company name is a homage to the "Hanse" (Hanseatic League), the association of Low German merchants in the Middle Ages. The Old High German word "Hansa" means "group" in the sense of a group
I can't think of a reason why they would weld there without a fire watch. That should have been step one before starting work.
Ahh perfect, I was just thinking I was finally bored enough to be responsible and go to bed, then I saw a new Dark History video......sleep can wait.
Styrofoam is incredibly flammable. Learned the hard way when my ex's business burned to the ground in less than 20 minutes. A result of his using Styrofoam for insulation.
I call bullshit on "the airport firefighters knew nothing about handling indoor fires". There's nothing of that kind in any report that I've found. Overwhelmed by the scope of the blaze, sure. But untrained, that's nearly impossible. All German firefighters, including those in private owned departments and volunteers, get a standardized basic training. Otherwise the department is not recognized by insurers, and since there's a considerable price tag attached to that, even the pencil pushers in management can't help but notice.
Was thinking the same thing. They would have been trained to handle various fires. If the terminals had more safety features, then they might have had a chance. But they knew right away that the scale of the fire required a much larger response. They did what they could with what they had.
If only they have ordered an evacuation earlier.