Fire safety in parking facilities: Know the risk, and strengthen safety

Danish lawmakers have rejected calls to tighten fire safety requirements for the country’s parking facilities. But what can building owners do themselves to improve fire safety in their parking facilities?

In both 2022 and 2025, DBI published reports focusing on fire safety in parking facilities and making recommendations for how safety could be improved. The reports were prompted by developments in modern cars, which have become significantly larger and contain considerably more plastic than earlier vehicles.

However, fire safety requirements for parking garages have not been adapted to the increased fire load associated with modern cars. For example, sprinkler requirements have not been tightened, and recommended parking bay widths do not adequately take into account the risk of fire spreading between vehicles or the emergency services’ ability to respond to a fire.

The extensive fires that have affected numerous parking facilities both in Denmark and abroad in recent years could therefore well be a warning of what may also be in store in Denmark. Nevertheless, the Danish Social and Housing Authority has so far seen no reason to amend the regulations, which currently focus solely on life safety and do not address property losses or the consequences for infrastructure.

“We still hope to convince lawmakers to take action – if not sooner, then at least as part of the upcoming Building Regulations. In the meantime, we are trying to equip building owners and insurance companies with the knowledge they need to understand the risks and take action in time,” says Helene Anisimov, Project Manager at DBI.

“We can no longer design fire protection systems in parking facilities based on three cars being on fire before the emergency services arrive. It is more likely to be five or seven cars – and very quickly, entire levels of vehicles could be burning. The increased amount of plastic in modern cars is like pouring petrol on the fire, while narrow parking bays and low ceilings only make matters worse,” she says.

Changed use and new ignition sources

The same applies to the many new installations now being introduced in parking facilities, creating additional potential ignition sources.

“EV chargers, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and solar panels are among the installations increasingly being incorporated into parking facilities. But these, too, are not adequately addressed in the legislation,” says Helene Anisimov, also pointing out that the way parking facilities are used has also changed:

“Today’s parking garages are often located close to where people need them, with direct access to, for example, apartment buildings, shopping centres and office buildings. This means that a fire can have consequences far beyond the parking facility itself and could result in residents having to be rehoused and shops and offices being forced to close for an extended period. So perhaps the biggest problem is not the fire itself or the rebuilding, but the business interruption that follows a fire.”

What can building owners do themselves?

There is no doubt that a number of new factors need to be taken into account when designing the parking garages of the future. But owners of existing parking facilities can also strengthen fire safety by carrying out a risk assessment of the facility and its location, as well as through day-to-day operations.

“Building owners should check what is being stored in their parking facilities, whether technical installations are located in dedicated plant rooms, and how any such rooms are being used. They should also ensure that all escape routes are clear and visible, and that monitoring of operations and technical installations is functioning as intended. Clear signage and user information are also important, so that users know what they are and are not allowed to do. At the same time, operational staff need to be properly instructed,” says Helene Anisimov, continuing:

“Other measures that do not necessarily require major investment but can make a significant difference include clear specifications for installations, procedures for hot work, regular inspections of passive fire protection, as well as an emergency response plan and an operational response plan. In addition, measures should be implemented to support the emergency services’ ability to respond – such as access to firefighting water and effective ventilation.”

Greater focus among insurance companies

Insurance companies are also placing greater emphasis on fire safety in parking facilities. When legislation fails to keep pace with developments, building owners and insurance companies must take responsibility for reducing the risk of fire in the country’s parking garages.

“Our main focus is on passive fire protection, sprinkler systems, smoke ventilation and monitoring, but also on the local emergency response, including capacity, distances and operational challenges,” says Claus Konradsen, an engineer at If Insurance, identifying the three most important aspects of fire safety in parking facilities:

“Passive fire protection is number 1, number 2 and number 3 for me. I love fire compartments and fire doors!”

Selected parking facility fires, 2017–2026:

2017, Liverpool, UK
King’s Dock parking garage: 1,400 cars destroyed, parking structure declared a total loss.

2019, Münster-Osnabrück, Germany
Airport parking garage: 65 cars destroyed, structure closed due to structural damage.

2020, Stavanger, Norway
Airport parking garage: More than 200 cars destroyed, partial collapse of the structure.

2020, Dorsten, Germany
Garage complex: 32 individual garage units destroyed, including several irreplaceable classic cars.

2023, Luton, UK
Airport parking garage (Terminal Car Park 2): Up to 1,500 cars destroyed, parking structure collapsed.

2024, Ballerup, Denmark
Residential parking facility: 6 cars burned out and another 14 damaged. Significant damage to the concrete structure.

2026, Shenzhen, China
Parking facility for electric vehicles manufactured by BYD: Unknown number of vehicles destroyed, several floors burned out.