Düsseldorf Airport fire cause welding
Cause and timeline
The fire was caused by welding work done to an expansion joint on the elevated access road of Terminal A, which began at around 13:00. Droplets of molten metal started smouldering inside the polystyrene insulation on the dropped ceiling of the arrivals hall below. This slow fire spread out over a large area without being noticed.At 15:31, a taxi driver informed the fire department that he had observed a few sparks falling out of the ceiling in the arrivals area. Two members of the airport fire brigade arrived on the scene a few minutes later, initially suspecting an electrical failure. At around 15:45, they learned of the welding work directly above, thus being able to finally identify the probable origin. By that time, smoke could be seen emanating from ceiling vents.The situation grew out of control at 15:58. A flashover occurred, setting ablaze approximately 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft) of the ceiling within seconds. This was accompanied by an intense buildup of thick, black smoke. A total of 11 metric tons of polystyrene burned down, as well as numerous PVC cable coatings, releasing highly toxic substances including carbon monoxide, dioxins, hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen chloride. As there was neither a sprinkler system nor fire doors (which was not mandatory at that time), a wall of smoke spread through the terminal building.At approximately 16:00 the headquarters of the airport fire brigade was informed about the extent of the fire, and reacted by calling for assistance from firefighters stationed in the adjacent municipalities. At 16:06, a general call for evacuation was put on the public address system of the airport. Until then, people in those parts of the airport that were not directly affected by the smoke had been unaware of the situation. Flight operations were halted at 16:36.Many of the firefighters did not have any experience with fires of that kind, and necessary supplies were missing. The airport fire brigade had only been trained to address aviation accidents, not how to respond to a fire inside the airport building. At 19:20, the fire was under control, and it was declared to be put out at 21:30.