Ich habe gekocht, als du anriefst — I Was Cooking When the Phone Rang

Every room has a smoke alarm, by law

Smoke alarms are compulsory in German homes — Rauchmelderpflicht — and the rules are set by each federal state, which means the details differ but the requirement does not. Bedrooms, children's rooms and hallways used as escape routes must all have one, in new builds and old alike. Responsibility is split in a way that catches tenants out: the landlord usually installs them, but in most states the tenant is responsible for checking them and must give access for the annual inspection. Removing one or taking the battery out can affect an insurance claim. This sits inside a wider German instinct for the insured and inspected life — the chimney sweep who calls annually is a legally mandated figure with right of entry, household contents insurance is near universal, and personal liability cover, Haftpflichtversicherung, is held by the large majority of households despite being optional. If you burn the dinner, the alarm will go off, and at least one neighbor will notice.