A fire station that burned down in Norfolk, England was reportedly not equipped with sprinklers or an alarm system. Officers at a neighboring police station smelled smoke around midnight and discovered the building on fire.

A fire station that burned down in Norfolk, England was reportedly not equipped with a sprinkler system.

Officers at a neighboring police station smelled smoke around midnight and discovered the building on fire.

The flames destroyed a fire engine and equipment worth almost half a million dollars, and explosions of pressurized air tanks caused debris to land in the next street over, but no one was hurt.

Deputy chief fire officer Roy Harold is quoted as saying: “Normally we go to other people's fires, but tonight we had to go to our own. This building's relatively new, but it wasn't sprinklered. We now ask all new building developments to consider sprinklers very strongly.”

All of the equipment that was destroyed has since been replaced including the fire truck and protective clothing.

But what’s left of the building will have to be demolished and a new station could reportedly cost around 2 and a half million dollars.

This fire station had been in operation since 2006 with one watch manager, eight firefighters and two crew managers.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.