Europa-Park builds its own fire station; increases area safety

AT: Tim Baldwin

tbaldwin@amusementtoday.com

RUST, Germany — Even with the famous amusement resort having been in the town for five decades, Rust remains relatively small with just over 5,000 citizens — which is rather ironic when the Europa-Park resort can have more than 35,000 people within its gates on a busy day.

The town of Rust has a volunteer fire department, which has come to the aid of the park in the past 10 years when two fires have tragically destroyed some beloved attractions. (All have been rebuilt since.)

Being forward-thinking, management has completed a brand-new fire station right on the property at the resort. It was ready for the 2025 season.

Holger Hannemaan, head of the fire brigade at Europa-Park, speaks fondly of the town’s volunteer fire department: “The Rust fire brigade is very well equipped for a village of this size, in the event of an incident.”

Now with a permanent team at Europa-Park, the resort is ready to reciprocate. “Cooperation between us as the main fire brigade and the Rust volunteer fire brigade is excellent,” noted Hannemann.

He points out to Amusement Today that district administration determines specific plans and requirements, which must be followed. “This ensures that sufficient firefighters and equipment are available. The requirements plan is renewed every few years and adjusted if necessary,” he explained.

Positioned right on the main road of the resort, the new building began construction last year and was completed this spring. The facility has six bays and 920 square meters (9,900 square feet) of usable area. Currently, the park says the brigade consists of 50 employees.

When visiting, AT noticed a variety of sizes for emergency vehicles. It was explained that sometimes a smaller fire within the park (or parking lot) wouldn’t require a full-sized fire engine, and a smaller vehicle would have easier access to such cases. As with everything at Europa-Park, efficiency is top of mind.

The employee areas have restrooms, a kitchen, a lounge, laundry facilities, sanitary facilities and offices. More work-related are a training room, parts workshop, cleaning materials room, breathing apparatus workshop and rooms for fire protective clothing. Whether for practicality or tradition, two fire poles provide sliding access from the top floor to the lower floor.