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Burnt bratwurst causes Munich station panic

Two fire engines were called into action at Munich central station on Tuesday and local trains didn't stop at the station for fifteen minutes – all because an overcooked bratwurst had set off a fire alarm.

Burnt bratwurst causes Munich station panic
Photo: DPA

Talk about not taking any risks. A total of ten fire vehicles arrived at the southern city's main station and passengers hoping to hop off at the busy interchange  were unable to leave their trains as carriages trundled through to avoid the danger.

The offending bratwurst was being cooked on the mezzanine floor in a sausage stall, reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

When fat from the offending sausage dropped onto the grill and evaporated it somehow set off the fire alarm, since the nearby extractor fan wasn't working properly.

A spokesperson for the Munich fire service explained to The Local that the massive emergency operation was necessary despite the harmless cause of the alarm.

“According to the city regulations we have to send out two fire engines when the alarm at the central station goes off,” he said. “We're not soothsayers, we didn't know what was going to happen.”

For similar reasons the S-Bahn (local) trains did not stop at the station for fifteen minutes.

“If there had been a real fire it would have been complete craziness to let people get out in the station directly underneath it,” a spokesperson told the SZ.

But what happened to the over-sizzled sausage remains a mystery.

“What kind of a question is that?“ said the overheated fire service spokesperson. “Of course I have no idea what happened to the sausage.”

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