Professor Michael Rost of Magdeburg-Stendal University has made a call for more safety to be invested in buildings. In the years ahead there will be a significant decrease in the numbers of volunteer fire-fighters. At the same time the demographic trend will lead to there being more elderly and vulnerable people. This is particularly critical for homes for the elderly, which he said should have fire detectors and if more than one storey high sprinklers as well. He was supported by Holger Stahlknecht, the Interior Minister of Sachsen-Anhalt who said, “Anyone who thinks things can stay as they are, has no idea.” The state lost 430 fire-fighters last year and now only 226 of 1,633 local fire brigades have enough volunteers to form a fire crew. Lothar Lindecke, the State Fire Chief, can see a revised building code that governs the installation of sprinklers.