International collaboration

An abstract of voluntary fire prevention organization abroad

A voluntary fire prevention abroad is many-sided, it has various historical roots, national peculiarities and traditions. In all countries it was founded for the purpose of joining of citizens’ efforts (amateurs) in fire-fight.

In most European countries a voluntary fire prevention is organized on material encouragement principals (full and partial remuneration of labour) of voluntary fire prevention leading and main technical staff (drivers, motor mechanics, mechanical engineers). A voluntary fire prevention other members activity is stimulated with benefits, pay by the hour for fire-extinguishing work fulfillment and for a duty in a fire station. It should be noted that practically in al European countries voluntary firemen moral encouragement (for example, awards, distinction, public commendation) is applied broadly. Voluntary firemen prestige is possible thanks to high moral standard, based on respect to firefighting, enhancement the prestige of this profession in public opinion by means of leading by these countries authorities politics in fire safety field.

A voluntary fire prevention peculiarity of European countries is that it is a part of public associations (unions, associations, etc.) along with professional fire and scientific and technical organizations, which are occupied with questions on fire techniques and fire-technical equipment elaboration and production.

In Austria a voluntary fire prevention is organized, ensured and financed by lands and communities municipal bodies. Volunteer subdivisions are organized on professional department principle, but they have limited paid staff. In Austria voluntary firemen outnumber professional firemen. They pay special attention to voluntary firemen training. A basic training method is hands-on training. Austrian voluntary firemen peculiarity is availability of mass reserve, trained and got basic skills in fire fighting. Besides fire-extinguishing voluntary firemen work actively on fire prevention with aid of fire-prevention popularization meanings and mass events conduction. They pay attention to voluntary activity traditions keeping and maintenance, develop museums net with fire-technical subject, fire attributes collecting is spread broadly. A voluntary fire prevention prestige is supported on high level.

In Belgium almost all fire safety consists of voluntary firemen. Voluntary firemen have broad benefits, that is why staffing voluntary fire brigades it is given preference to technicians, sportsmen, free professions people. About 7 % of voluntary firemen are women. Characteristic feature is volunteers appointed number selection and training for professional fire brigades, using them as a reserve and auxiliary service.

In Great Britain voluntary fire prevention does not have organizational structure on a national scale. With that voluntary firemen are represented in all fire prevention organizations, including associations on fire-prevention equipment production and sale and research organizations in fire prevention field. A voluntary fire prevention is regarded as addition to professional units and are got involved if necessary. Along with territorial subdivision a voluntary fire prevention is founded in facilities. Facilities brigades leaders organic assignments are staffed basically from professionals. In country and small places voluntary fire prevention is founded under professional fire prevention. Purely voluntary fire units are only in Scotland and North Ireland.

In Denmark professional fire prevention provides fire safety in country. Voluntary fire units are low-grade. Professional fire prevention is maintained by municipalities. There is private fire prevention at enterprises.

In Ireland there is professional fire prevention only in capital Dublin, there are mixed fire brigades, consisting of voluntary firemen and minimum number of professional firemen, in other places.

In Italy National firemen corps consists of volunteers, essentially, professional firemen, who finished service and who are taken in voluntary reserve automatically.

Luxemburg fire prevention consists of voluntary firemen practically completely, only in capital there are professional fire prevention units. Country legislation binded each district (place) to have their own fire service. It is entrusted local authorities with voluntary firemen training organization. Firemen outfit (overalls, footwear, helmets, individual fire equipment purchase) is fulfilled at the expense of volunteers. Women are gotten involved in the voluntary fire prevention service.

In Finland voluntary fire units are organized both in cities and in village communities, supported at the expense of meanings, granted by Salvage Operations Department, and subsidies got from municipal town councils and village communities.

In France voluntary fire prevention is about 90 % of fire organizations quantity. Voluntary fire units activity is directed on fire prevention and extinguishing, assistance in all emergency situations, natural disaster consequences liquidation. Fire extinguishing is 13% of all assistance kinds.

In Germany fire voluntary activity organization principles substantially differ from fire voluntary activity organization principles in Russia. There is no in Germany any federal authority body of Voluntary Firemen Unions in each of 16 Lands. In each Land a legislative power elaborated and approved the laws about Land voluntary fire prevention, fire prevention organization order and protection conceptions from anthropogenic disasters. Mentioned documents can differ substantially in contents subject to financial fortune of one or another German Land. At once voluntary fire prevention organization principals are approximately similar in each Land. According to the Law each community has to found fire prevention. In towns with population over 90 thousand people professional fire brigades are organized along with voluntary fire brigades. In towns with population below 90 thousand people voluntary fire prevention is organized, its membership is added by staff members for service of central control connection post and guarantee the first fire-fighting vehicle departure. 80 % of a voluntary fire prevention member live in a country. For example, in Rheinland-Pfalz Land fire prevention general quantity is 62 thousand people (including 60 thousand voluntary firemen, 1 thousand professional firemen and 1 thousand firemen at facility fire prevention units) when the Land population size is 3,5 billion people.

A voluntary fire prevention unit quantity is at the average 100 people. Voluntary fire prevention units protect places with population size less than 90 thousand people. Units quantity is determined by law established stipulation about the fact that time of prompt voluntary fire prevention unit arrival to alarm place must not exceed 8 minutes. In Germany there is no unitary federal voluntary firemen register and their quantity is taken stock in each unit separately. A voluntary fire prevention prompt units foundation and maintenance are local authority obligation. Items of expenses for voluntary fire prevention prompt units maintenance are determined by an estimate which is made by unit head and approved by burgomaster. Voluntary fire prevention prompt units do not have staff members and are not entitled the entity right.

In casual life voluntary fire prevention fire stations are closed. When a call to a fire intakes to police station, dispatcher on duty sends an information to voluntary firemen pagers, where he\she indicates purpose call, accident address, list of specialists for call service (doctors, drivers, divers, specialists on demolishing constructions, etc.) Voluntary firemen have to leave direct work place and arrive to fire station in time, allowing to manage in 8 minutes – established by law standard. Voluntary firemen for time, spending in prompt work on fire extinguishing and for training period get a salary in direct work place. In future financial expenses for salary payment to voluntary firemen for the time of non-attendance at direct work are indemnified from local authorities means. All voluntary firemen have to be insured for death, injury case or disability committing prompt work. Women are under 30 % of fire prevention prompt units, who commit the similar work as men (including a work in oxygen – isol ting gas masks, a work at a height, take participation in rescue of casualties). Voluntary firemen do not have other benefits.

A training is realized both voluntary firemen and professional ones in the training units of Rheinland-Pfalz Land. Training duration of voluntary firemen is 10 weeks, and professional ones – 40 weeks. At the same time educational center trains 128 persons and works continuously 10 months a day. The educational center is provided by modern equipment, has various plants and accommodation for firemen training, it was spent more than 40 billion Deutsche marks (about 20 billion the USA dollars). Since 1964 there is youth fire prevention in the country.

In Sweden voluntary fire prevention is more than 80 % of country fire prevention quantity.

Municipalities respond for voluntary fire prevention organization and activity. Municipality fire brigade (both professional and voluntary) is entrusted with functions on fire extinguishing, people rescue and aiding in various incidents.

In the USA voluntary fire prevention quantity exceeds professional fire prevention quantity in three times, and this correlation tends to increase. There are sufficiently evident differences between certain voluntary fire brigades, it makes experience generalization difficult.

Like this, certain brigades serve small settlements, and others - densely populated districts, having sizeable budget and large staff quantity.