Today's words · 🔥 Fire & safety
10 German words to know in a fire emergency
A1B1B2
You hope you'll never need them — but if you do, they have to come out instantly.
At dawn, a piercing beep comes from the ceiling: the smoke alarm. Luckily it's just burnt toast, but for a moment your mind goes blank. If it had been a real fire, what would you have said on the phone in German?
Today's ten words are about fire and safety. With them you can shout for help, call the fire brigade and find the emergency exit. Don't panic — knowing them in advance is the best safety tip there is. 🚒
📋 The ten words at a glance
- das Feuer — fire
- der Brand — fire, blaze
- brennen — to burn; to be on (light); to sting
- die Feuerwehr — fire brigade, fire department
- der Rauch — smoke
- der Rauchmelder — smoke detector, smoke alarm
- der Feuerlöscher — fire extinguisher
- löschen — to delete, erase; to put out (a fire)
- der Notausgang — emergency exit
- die Sicherheit — safety, security; certainty
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
das Feuer
[FOY-er]fire(Pl. die Feuer)
📌 Haben Sie Feuer?
→ Have you got a light?
💡 Same root as English fire 🔥 Say it slowly and hear the flames: ‘FOY-er’.
Bonus Hast du Feuer? on the street = Have you got a light?
der Brand
[BRANT]fire, blaze(Pl. die Brände)
📌 Bei dem Brand wurde niemand verletzt.
→ Nobody was injured in the fire.
💡 From brennen (to burn) 🏚️ In the news, a fire is almost always a Brand.
Bonus to catch fire = in Brand geraten · plural: die Brände
brennen
[BREN-en]to burn; to be on (light); to sting(brennt – brannte – hat gebrannt)
📌 Im Wohnzimmer brennt noch Licht.
→ The light is still on in the living room.
💡 Same root as English burn 🔥 Es brennt! = Fire!
⚠ Mixed verb: brannte – hat gebrannt
die Feuerwehr
[FOY-er-vair]fire brigade, fire department(Pl. die Feuerwehren)
📌 Ruf sofort die Feuerwehr!
→ Call the fire brigade right away!
💡 Feuer + Wehr (defence) = the fire defence team 🚒
Bonus Emergency number: 112 (police: 110)
der Rauch
[ROWKH]smoke((no pl.))
📌 Aus dem Schornstein steigt Rauch auf.
→ Smoke is rising from the chimney.
💡 Related to English reek 💨 The verb rauchen also means ‘to smoke’ a cigarette.
Bonus Rauchen verboten = No smoking
der Rauchmelder
[ROWKH-mel-der]smoke detector, smoke alarm(Pl. die Rauchmelder)
📌 In jedem Schlafzimmer muss ein Rauchmelder hängen.
→ There must be a smoke detector in every bedroom.
💡 Rauch (smoke) + melden (to report) + -er = smoke reporter 🚨
Bonus A short beep every so often usually means the battery needs changing.
der Feuerlöscher
[FOY-er-lur-sher]fire extinguisher(Pl. die Feuerlöscher)
📌 Weißt du, wo der Feuerlöscher im Haus ist?
→ Do you know where the fire extinguisher is in the house?
💡 Feuer + löschen (put out) + -er = fire putter-outer 🧯
Bonus Plural is the same: die Feuerlöscher
löschen
[LUR-shen]to delete, erase; to put out (a fire)(löscht – hat gelöscht)
📌 Ich habe die Datei aus Versehen gelöscht.
→ I deleted the file by mistake.
💡 Put out fires and delete files 🧯 The fire meaning came first!
Bonus The ‘Delete’ button on a German computer says Löschen.
der Notausgang
[NOHT-ows-gang]emergency exit(Pl. die Notausgänge)
📌 Der Notausgang ist hinten links.
→ The emergency exit is at the back on the left.
💡 Not (emergency) + Ausgang (exit) 🚪 Look for the green running man.
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Notausgänge
die Sicherheit
[ZIKH-er-hite]safety, security; certainty(no pl.)
📌 Die Sicherheit der Kinder steht an erster Stelle.
→ The children's safety comes first.
💡 sicher (safe) + -heit 🦺 Nouns ending in -heit are always die.
Bonus Sicherheit geht vor. = Safety first.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
In Germany, call 112 for the fire brigade or an ambulance, and 110 for the police. The operator will ask you questions — where (Wo?), what happened (Was?), how many people are hurt — so just stay calm and answer them one by one.
Smoke alarms (Rauchmelder) are required in homes in Germany. Who has to install and check them — landlord or tenant — depends on the state. When you move in, take a quick look at the bedroom and hallway ceilings.
Many German fire brigades are volunteer services, the Freiwillige Feuerwehr. In small villages, the fire brigade is often a social hub too, running local festivals. 🚒
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Smoke is coming out of your neighbour's window. You call 112. What do you say?
- ① Es brennt! Bitte kommen Sie schnell.
- ② Hast du Feuer?
- ③ Ich habe die Datei gelöscht.
Show the answer
① Es brennt! Bitte kommen Sie schnell.
Es brennt! = There's a fire! — the quickest way to report an emergency.
Today, find the emergency exit and fire extinguisher at home or work and name them out loud: ‘Notausgang, Feuerlöscher’. Safety and German in one go! 🧯
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🔀 Separable verbs 1