What's new

Rebuild of Alpenexpress and Tiroler Wildwasserbahn Europa Park after major fire.

I don't want this to come across as an accusation or anything, but I feel like this is further confirmation to my impression that proper fire-damage proofing was slmost non-existent before the 2000s. Looking at the pattern of damage now and from the 2018 fire, both times it appears like the affected areas consisted mostly of metal framework and expanding foam.
You would be shocked how many buildings from the past which are wildly flammable. Expanding foam is highly flammable and a lot of theme parks are riddled with the stuff.

Generally building regulations for fire tend to not be retroactive unless major work is done. If that ride was largely left as-is for decades then legally there'd have been no requirement to upgrade the fire rating.
 
Were there any sprinklers in the building?

I don't know, but it looks like it given that people had plenty of time to evacuate, which is the main and only purpose of sprinklers since they can't prevent property damage. The water is almost always going to severely damage the entire building, even when the fire would have turned out to be contained to a smaller area.

If you look at other examples of indoor fires in places that were filled to the brim with highly flammable materials (like the Station Night Club Fire), the entire Alpenexpress/Wildwasserbahn area could have been fully ablaze in less than 5 minutes, so important protective measures definitely were in place, however apparently nothing that would have been able to prevent severe damage in the first place.

This is why Phantasialand's theming is 99% spray concrete.
 
I don't know, but it looks like it given that people had plenty of time to evacuate, which is the main and only purpose of sprinklers since they can't prevent property damage. The water is almost always going to severely damage the entire building, even when the fire would have turned out to be contained to a smaller area.
I'm not sure that's entirely true. A lot of sprinkler systems installed for asset protection are there to prevent the fire spreading beyond given fire compartment zones. Yes, you do seriously damage the room, but there's a fire in that room anyway. With appropriate zone design (head spacing, threshold drains, etc) you can effectively manage fire spread - which is the crux of it really.

Yes, in the hierarchy, life safety always outweighs asset protection, but asset protection is a massive part of building (and the like) design.

As for no sprinklers in this area - pick your option:
  • detection
  • occupancy density
  • access to escape
  • regulations (both at time of construction and retrospective updates)
  • insurance requirements (asset protection)
Lots of things at play here - not as simple as yes or no, in many cases.
 
The fire must have spread very very quickly. Looking at the data on the photos I took, the alarm went off at 16:39. There was no visible smoke at 16:43 and it was absolutely billowing smoke by 16:55.
 
I'm not sure that's entirely true. A lot of sprinkler systems installed for asset protection are there to prevent the fire spreading beyond given fire compartment zones. Yes, you do seriously damage the room, but there's a fire in that room anyway. With appropriate zone design (head spacing, threshold drains, etc) you can effectively manage fire spread - which is the crux of it really.

Yes, in the hierarchy, life safety always outweighs asset protection, but asset protection is a massive part of building (and the like) design.

That's what I have been tought too. Working in property management, our asset protection policies always come second to life saving. But, we prefer destroying one room, apartment or staircase, over risking an entire building. While we dont have sprinklers in apartments, the fire services know to spare no expense in case of fire. I had a fridge catch fire last month in one of the apartments. That apartment is completely destroyed but the rest of the building is great.
 
Looks like the diamond cave will not be returning, as new concept art shows a more open mountain landscape for the reimagined area.

0812epassthem9.jpg


0812epassthem8.jpg



The damaged areas have been fully cleared out and (re)construction has begun.

0812epassthem7.jpg


0812epassthem5.jpg


0812epassthem3.jpg


 
Looks like the diamond cave will not be returning, as new concept art shows a more open mountain landscape for the reimagined area.

0812epassthem9.jpg


0812epassthem8.jpg



The damaged areas have been fully cleared out and (re)construction has begun.

0812epassthem7.jpg


0812epassthem5.jpg


0812epassthem3.jpg


Only Europa Park could
 
So the park has filed planning documents with Rust giving us a look at the future.

Alpenexpress is being rebuilt as before. Tiroler Wildwasserbahn pretty much also; minus a slight layout change.
It is confirmed that Zauberwelt der Diamanten is history; the indoor hall and walkthrough is not returning.

Instead a rockwork landscape will surround the rides, with outdoor guest pathways throughout with some small tunnel sections. There will be a new shop also.
F6KjUCtWwAAZwRt


F6Kj4lhWIAElVES


F6Kj4mXWkAAzTyK




The slight WiWa change - simply a slight bend in the trough has been replaced with a straight section.

F6Kkh_rWoAAwxzT
F6Kkh_9WcAA9zmN

Source

The site has been mostly cleared by now; foundations and some vertical construction work has begun.
index.php


This week the Alpenexpress station track and airgates were removed. All that remains of the layout are short pieces of the station entry and exit track for the moment.
index.php

Source EPFriends.de
 
Yesterday there was apparently a fan meeting at Europa Park which divulged a few new details on what we can expect out of the Alpenexpress/Tiroler rebuild:
  • Alpenexpress will be completely rebuilt with new track and a new train (new credit?)
  • Tiroler will remain with all of its original boats as they apparently survived the fire
  • 30 new animatronics will be placed along the new course. Not all of them will move
  • A dwarf animatronic from the diamond cave survived and will be reintegrated into the new area
  • The diamond cave shop will also be completely rebuilt
Source:
 
Top