Larger cars with more plastic put pressure on fire safety in car parks

Modern cars burn far more intensely than they used to. This challenges fire safety in existing parking facilities, as regulations have not kept pace with developments. A new report may help car park owners map their risks.

Danish cars have become more flammable. Over the past ten years, the amount of plastic in vehicles has increased so much that the fire load has doubled, and in 2026 a car fire releases three times more energy than it did in 2016.

At the same time, cars have become larger. Ten years ago, the average Danish car was 4.36 metres long and 1.74 metres wide. According to Mobility Denmark, the average car today has grown by 14 centimetres in length to 4.50 metres, while width has increased by 11 centimetres to 1.85 metres.

This is a major problem, especially in car parks. The combination of larger and more flammable vehicles means that a car fire can spread far more easily to neighbouring vehicles – and ultimately risk escalating out of control.

These findings are highlighted in a new report from DBI, which also documents that fire safety requirements for car parks have not kept pace with the evolution of vehicles. The combination of outdated fire regulations and modern cars could potentially have very serious consequences.

Counting down to a serious incident in Denmark

“It was not long ago that we saw a massive fire in Shenzhen, China, where entire levels of a parking facility for electric vehicles were engulfed in flames. We have also seen large and extensive fires in car parks abroad, including at Stavanger Airport and Luton Airport. In both cases, the fires spread uncontrollably, and parts of the buildings collapsed. In hindsight, it is clear that the lack of sprinkler systems and the increased fire load from modern vehicles were major reasons why the incidents became so severe,” explains Fire Safety Consultant and Project Manager Helene Anisimov, who co-authored the white paper.

She points out that Denmark has not yet experienced a car park fire on this scale, but that it is only a matter of time before it will happen:

“As long as regulations do not reflect reality, we are counting down to a serious incident. We came close in Ballerup in 2024, where six cars burned out and the heat nearly made it impossible for firefighters to operate,” says Helene Anisimov.

Fire safety requirements have not kept pace

As early as 2022, DBI highlighted in a report the need to strengthen fire safety requirements in parking facilities.

“At the time, we pointed out that the threshold for when a parking facility should be equipped with sprinklers ought to be significantly reduced, from the current 2,000 or 1,000 square metres, depending on the building’s use, to 150 square metres. That is the scale emergency services can realistically manage when operating under difficult conditions in underground parking facilities,” explains Lars Vædeled Roed, a certified Fire Safety Consultant at DBI and co-author of the report.

Despite the report’s clear recommendations, the regulations have still not been updated. In October 2025, then Danish Minister for Social Affairs and Housing Sophie Hæstorp Andersen was asked why no political action had been taken in response to the recommendations. In her reply, she referred to information provided by the Danish Social and Housing Agency:

“Due to the increasing share of electric and hybrid vehicles, the former Danish Housing and Planning Authority chose to investigate whether there was a need to adjust sprinkler regulations. The report and mapping exercise did not provide grounds for additional measures, including amendments to the Building Regulations,” the agency wrote in its response.

Have a risk assessment conducted for your parking facility

Legislation no longer sets an adequate benchmark, meaning it is now up to parking facility owners to take action.

“Be aware of your risks, and know what you can do about them. Hoping a fire will not occur is not a strategy. We therefore strongly recommend carrying out a specific risk assessment that addresses issues such as operational downtime, asset protection and business continuity,” says Helene Anisimov.

A risk assessment for parking facilities can help identify which fire safety challenges the facility faces, what the potential consequences may be, and most importantly, what measures can be taken to reduce the risks.

Helene Anisimov therefore encourages owners of existing parking facilities to have their properties assessed before a fire forces decisions upon them. At a minimum, owners should understand what a prolonged fire could mean for their business.

“Will the building become structurally unstable and need to be demolished? Will the fire service establish a hazard zone affecting neighbouring businesses, both your own and others’? We have repeatedly seen air traffic brought to a standstill because of fires in airport car parks, and in that context even an expensive retrofit sprinkler system can quickly prove to be a sound investment,” says Helene Anisimov.

Selected parking garage 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.