Firefighting worldwide
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This article discusses national trends and protocol in fire fighting. As firefighting has a rich history throughout the world, traditions in this profession vary widely from country to country.
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[edit] Australia
In Australia, fire services are state/territory organisations.
In several states, there are two principal fire-fighting organisations. One is salaried and (primarily) handles urban areas and the other is (primarily) volunteer and (primarily) handles rural areas.
In New South Wales:
In South Australia
In Victoria:
[edit] Canada
Large cities and most towns have full-time fire departments and firefighters. Smaller towns and other municipalities employ part-time volunteer firefighters. All municipal fire departments are publicly operated. Private companies do operate for fire protection on private property. Airport fire departments are operated by local airport authorities. The Department of National Defence has their own firefighters on Canadian Forces bases. Some provinces have firefighting crews to handle forest fires.
[edit] Chile
In Chile, firefighters are called "Bomberos". They are volunteers. They finance the acquisition, maintenance and operation of their buildings and equipment (including firetrucks) rather than rely upon government allocations. Bomberos is the name given for the Firefighters in most of the Spanish speaking countries.
[edit] France
French firefighters are called Sapeurs-Pompiers, and reflecting the rural nature of much of the country (wide areas with low density of population), the Volunteer Fire brigade (SPV, sapeur-pompier volontaire), with over 190,000 firefighters is the largest firefighting force in France. In addition to being called out from work to attend an incident, they may be on standby at firestations outside their working hours; the intervention and attending hours are paid by the session. The volunteer firebrigade is also a way to promote the culture of civil defense and of solidarity amongst the population. The Professional Fire Brigade (SPP, sapeur-pompier professionnel) numbers over 30,000 firefighters, employed by the départements and working on shifts. In some towns there is a mixture of professionals and volunteers, in others only one or the other.
In Paris and Marseille, the fire brigades are made up of military personnel, but under the control of the Ministry of the Interior in a similar way to the Gendarmes. The Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP) has around 7,000 firefighters, and the Marseille Marine Fire Battalion (BMPM) has over 2,000.
French firefighters tackle over 3.6 million incidents each year:
- 10% fires,
- 10% traffic accidents (freeing the casualties and prehospital care as first responders),
- 59% other help to people (mainly prehospital care as first responders),
- 21% other incidents (gas escapes, stuck elevators, etc).
With the SAMU (French EMS), they are the backbone of the French civil defense.
[edit] Germany
German fire brigades (Feuerwehr) are organized on a town/village basis, with each town having at least one brigade. In Germany there are about 25,000 local brigades - 24,000 volunteer fire brigades (Freiwillige Feuerwehr), 800 private fire brigades with public accreditation (Werkfeuerwehr), which mostly protect large industrial complexes or airports, many private fire brigades with no public accreditation (Betriebsfeuerwehr) , and 100 public fire brigades (Berufsfeuerwehr) compulsory by law for large towns and cities. However, public brigades are often supported by and cooperate with volunteer brigades. Some volunteer brigades have also a small core of full-time fire fighters paid by local community funds. Volunteer fire brigades are usually structured in three brigade categories (Grundausstattung, Stützpunktfeuerwehren, Schwerpunktfeuerwehren) depending on size and level of equipment. Some German fire brigades not only have firefighters, but also ambulance crews. There is an estimate of a total of 1,300,000 active members.
[edit] Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Fire Services Department (HKFSD) not only has firefighters, but Ambulanceman/Ambulancewoman. As of 14/5/2005, there are 8,675 uniformed personnel (including ambulanceman/ambulancewoman) and 676 civilian members.
The head of HKFSD is called Director but not Commissioner. Assisted by the Deputy Director, Director of the HKFSD is the head of three Operational Fire Commands: Hong Kong, Kowloon and N.T.(i.e. The three Districts). Each of the Commands is under the control of the Chief Fire Officer(CFO). In reality, there is one additional Command : The Heartquarters(HQ), which is under control of the CFO(HQ).
[edit] Japan
Japan's first fire service was founded in 1629 during the Edo-era, and was called Hikeshi (Japanese: 火消し). During the Meiji Period, when Japan opened its doors to the West, the Hikeshi was merged into the police department. During this time period, pumps were imported and domestically produced, and modern firefighting strategies were introduced. In 1948, after World War II, a municipality fire service system was established.
Today, fire services are organized on a city/town/village basis. There are 894 fire headquarters (Japanese: 消防本部) and 3,598 volunteer fire corps (Japanese: 消防団). These have a total of 155,000 active career firefighters and 21,000 vehicles with 4,800 fire houses; 920,000 volunteer firefighters share an additional 51,000 trucks.
[edit] The Netherlands
In The Netherlands municipalities are bound by law to have a fire brigade and participate in a regional fire service. The local brigade is responsible for responding to all incidents, the regional fire service provides a control centre and operates the special vehicles. There are 25 "safety Regions". These regions' boundaries are the same for fire, police and ambulance service and most regions have a combined control centre. The regions are self-contained and can cope with most incidents, in extreme circumstances other regions will provide assistance. All emergency services rely on a single modern digital national communications network based on the Tetra standard. This makes mutual assistance between regions simple to coordinate. Unlike some other countries the ambulance service is completely separated from the fire service, although the control centre is usually shared.
About 75% of all firefighters are volunteers, the rest are professional firefighters.
The appearance of emergency vehicles is standardized in order to keep them optimally recognisable for other road users. The basic first response unit is an engine manned by a crew of 6, a commander, a driver an attack-team and a water supply team. Aerial ladder or tower trucks are dispatched when needed. Because it's impractical to build trucks to carry all the possible types all regional fire services across the nation use a standardized type of containers. These containers are transported by special trucks. The containers are built for specific purposes. There are containers with command- and control, hydraulic submersible pumps (3000 litres per minute), hoseline (up to 3 km 150 mm hose), watertank, foamtank, decontamination, Hazmat, breathing apparatus, technical rescue etc.
[edit] New Zealand
In New Zealand, fire protection services are overseen by the New Zealand Fire Service Commission. The Commission ensures coverage through all jurisidictions nationwide and reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Fire Protection for urban areas is provided by the New Zealand Fire Service. This nationwide organisation was established Fire Service Act 1975 from the various City/Regional/District urban fire brigades in existence at the time. The Fire Service Act nationalised the service and provided the statutory authority required to fight and prevent fire and to respond to other emergencies, including hazardous substance incidents and motor-vehicle collisions.
The NZFS has a significant role in Urban Search and Rescue and contributes key resources to NZ's three USAR teams, based in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch. They also provide first-response medical services as a backup to local Ambulance Services (especially in rural areas) and members of the Fire Police often assist the Police at emergency scenes.
In rural areas the National Rural Fire Authority is responsible for providing fire response, as covered by the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977. Rural Fire Brigades are operated by City and District Councils, where each District appoints a Rural Fire Officer who reports to the National Rural Fire Officer, who reports to the NZFSC.
Other participants in the NZ Fire Service Commission are the New Zealand Defence Force (responsible for fires on Military land) and the Department of Conservation (Responsible for fires in National Parks). Privately owned forestry areas are responsible for providing their own firefighting means.
There is much cooperation between the various firefighting resources in New Zealand, but it is recognised that current legislation is not very flexible - there are loopholes in the areas of funding and legal liability, among others. The Department of Internal Affairs is currently in the process of reviewing legislation for Fire and Rescue services in New Zealand, with a view to rewriting both the Fire Service Act and the Forest and Rural Fires Act.
Specialist forest fire fighters from New Zealand are often requested to provide assistance at wildfire events in Australia and the United States, where their skills in incident management are utilised within the Incident Command System.
[edit] Singapore
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (abbreviation: SCDF; Chinese: 新加坡民防部队) is the main agency in charge of the provision of emergency services in the Republic of Singapore during peacetime and emergency.
A uniformed organization under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the SCDF provides ambulance, fire fighting and emergency response services in Singapore. It also plays a major role in the Republic's disaster relief operations.
[edit] Spain
Fire brigades in Spain are different in each autonomous community with the exception of Barcelona and Madrid which have their own brigades. The Fire Brigade of Valencia is famous for having created a NGO called Bomberos Sin Fronteras (Firefighters Without Borders) which helps in any natural disaster that could happen anywhere in the world.
[edit] United Kingdom
Main article: Fire service in the United Kingdom
The fire brigades in England are organised on a county basis, with each post-1974 county having its own brigade. In Scotland and Wales they are on a regional basis, with eight and three brigades respectively. Northern Ireland has a single brigade, the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade. In rural areas, there are often fire stations manned by part-time retained firefighters. In addition there are a number of independent fire brigades, such as the Peterborough volunteers, the Downe House School brigade and those run by large industrial concerns. As well as responding to fires and such like, British fire brigades also have a legal obligation (in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004) to respond to any emergency, which can pose a threat to life, and the environment. Many of these legal changes have come about as a result of the increased terrorist threat and recent industrial action. More information can be found here. Information on fire safety issued by the UK Government can be found here.
[edit] United States
U.S. firefighters work under the auspices of fire departments (also called fire protection districts, fire divisions, fire companies, fire bureaus, and fire-rescue). These departments are generally organized as local or county government subsidiaries, special-purpose district entities or not-for-profit corporations. They may be funded by the parent government, through millage, fees for services, fundraising or charitable contributions. Some state governments and the federal government operate fire departments to protect their wildlands, e.g., California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) [1], New Jersey Forest Fire Service [2], USDA Forest Service – Fire and Aviation Management [3] (see also Smokejumper). Many military installations, major airports and large industrial facilities also operate their own fire departments.
A small number of U.S. fire departments are privatized, that is operated by for-profit corporations on behalf of public entities. The City of Scottsdale, Arizona and Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio are among the largest public entities protected by privatized fire departments.
Most larger urban areas have career firefighters. Most rural areas have volunteer or paid on call firefighters. Smaller towns and suburban areas may have either. 76% of career firefighters are in departments that protect 25,000 or more people. 95% of volunteer firefighters are in departments that protect fewer than 25,000 people and more than half of these and are in small, rural departments protecting fewer than 2,500 people. Departments range in size from a handful of firefighters to over 11,400 sworn firefighters and 4,600 additional personnel in the New York City Fire Department.
As of 2004/2005, there were 1,136,650 firefighters in the United States.¹ Of these, 28% are career and 72% are volunteer. These firefighters operate out of 30,300 fire departments. Career firefighters represent 10% of all departments but protect 61% of the U.S. population. Meanwhile 90% of fire departments are volunteer or mostly volunteer and protect 39% of the population. Source: U.S. Fire Administration [4] and National Fire Protection Association [5]
U.S. fire departments are usually structured in a paramilitary manner. Firefighters are sworn, uniformed members of their departments. Rank-and-file firefighters are equivalent to enlisted personnel; supervisory firefighters are command officers with ranks such as Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Deputy Chief and Chief. Fire departments, especially larger ones, may also be organized into military-style echelons, such as companies, battalions and divisions. Fire departments may also have non-sworn or non-uniformed members in non-firefighting capacities such as administration and civilian oversight, e.g., a board of commissioners. While adhering to a paramilitary command structure, most fire departments operate on a much less formal basis than the military.
Firefighting in the United States is becoming more of a profession than it once was. Historically, especially in smaller departments, little formal training of firefighters was required. Now, most states require both career and volunteer firefighters to complete a certificate program at a fire academy. Associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in firefighting disciplines are available at colleges and universities. Such advanced training is becoming a de facto prerequisite for command in larger departments. The U.S. Fire Administration operates the National Fire Academy, which also provides specialized firefighter training.
- This does not include firefighters who work for the state or federal government or in private fire departments.
[edit] Venezuela
In Venezuela, there are several types of fire brigades, which are often divided by jurisdiction. The two main types of fire brigades here are State or Municipal brigades, with many volunteer units existing as well. One of the most important paid fire departments in Venezuela is the Bomberos Metropolitanos de Caracas (Caracas Metropolitan Firefighters).
A fourth type, the University brigade, takes care of any emergency situation on a university campus. These brigades are a rapidly growing trend in Venezuela. An example of such a force is Cuerpo de Bomberos Universitarios de la Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela Central University's Firefighter Brigade), which has more than 40 years of service and combined experience. There are new institutions growing in other universities, such as the Cuerpo de Bomberos Voluntarios de la Universidad Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar University's Volunteer Firefighter Brigade).
[edit] See also
- Bushfire
- Country Fire Service
- FDNY
- Fire/Burglar alarms
- Fire apparatus
- Fire station
- Fireboat
- Fire safety
- Firefighter
- Glossary of firefighting equipment
- Glossary of firefighting terms
- Glossary of wildland fire terms
- Incident Command System
- LAFD
- List of historic fires
- Leatherhead (helmet)
- Smokejumper
- Smoke detector
- Water tender
[edit] External links
- (International) FireFightingNews.com
- FireFighters Photos "FotoBomberos.com"
- Bomberos Metropolitanos de Caracas
- Cuerpo de Bomberos Voluntarios de la Universidad Simon Bolivar
- Bomberos de Chile, the National Fire Board, the coordinating body of Chilean firefighting organisations.
- Article on Firefighting in the USA in the German Wikipedia
