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A44 tunnel in Hirschhagen closed for hours after electrical fire
On July 15, 2025, there was an electrical fire in the Hirschhagen tunnel on the A44, which led to a temporary closure.
A44 tunnel in Hirschhagen closed for hours after electrical fire
Yesterday, July 15, 2025, there was a serious incident in the west operational building of the Hirschhagen motorway tunnel on the A44. At around 5:00 p.m., the automatic fire alarm system triggered an alarm, which set off the fire departments in the area. The reason for the alarm was an electrical fire in the technical area, which caused significant damage to the server cabinet and the devices installed in it. Whether the electronics are now fully functional remains unclear for the time being. As part of this safety measure, the tunnel was temporarily closed in both directions for several hours in order to clarify the situation. Road users were informed about the closure by electronic warning signs and diversions in front of the tunnel, as Osthessen-News reports.
A similar concern resulted in a temporary bout of double closures in 2022. The Hirschhagen tunnel, between Helsa and Hessisch Lichtenau, had to be closed on October 12, 2022 after the fire alarm system triggered false alarms, and remained closed until October 18, 2022. This happened just a week after its opening, which took place on October 7, 2022. Fortunately, during this short period of time it was only open to traffic for 117 hours.
Technical problems and their consequences
The closure at that time was a result of interference waves caused by the ground lighting cables. These had to be replaced, which caused a significant delay. The tunnel itself cost around 346 million euros and measures 5.9 kilometers. A total of 740 kilometers of cable are laid there, connected to three fire alarm systems that communicate with the tunnel control center in Eschwege. It is interesting that the Helsa volunteer fire department had to respond three times to the false alarms in 2022 and had 25 to 30 emergency services on site each time, as HNA reports.
Overall, tunnel fires, although relatively rare, are a serious problem. Studies worldwide show that between 2012 and 2023, 66 events were documented in road tunnels that produced significant smoke. Often the source is outside the tunnel. However, in 57 cases, drivers took advantage of the opportunity to stop burning vehicles before entering or to take them out of the tunnel. In eleven cases, however, smoke from burning objects such as buildings or vegetation drifted into the tunnel, which can also lead to critical situations, according to IFA-Swiss.