Fire alarm causes chaos in underground car park

Chaos erupted around 7.30pm in the new car park under the City Hall in Luxembourg City due to a fire alarm going off. This automatically prompted the security doors to shut each individual floor of the car park prohibiting any cars from leaving or entering.

A witness, who was personally affected by the situation, reported the incident to RTL. "We've been standing here waiting for ages, and nothing is happening," the woman from Germany told us. She was not alone as many tourists were trapped as well and were unable to get their cars out.

Due to a technical malfunction, the security doors stayed shut after the fire alarm went off. The security guard on duty was made aware of the situation. However, according to the witness, he told the people trapped in the parking lot "getting a technician here on a Saturday evening could take some time."

The woman also contacted the Grand-Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS), who reportedly informed our witness that the car park is managed by a private firm and therefore not their responsibility. Despite there being no sign of a fire, the circumstances were a recipe for disaster with the fire alarm malfunctioning and the fire alarm repeatedly going off, likely due to people sitting in their cars with the engines running, waiting to finally leave.

Around 9.30pm, an RTL employee went to the scene and confirmed that people were still blocked inside. In the meantime, the technician had arrived to try to resolve the situation. By 10pm, the technician managed to unblock a door, allowing cars on level -1 to finally leave the car park, but those parked on other floors were forced to wait.