Ranks of the fire brigade in Baden-Württemberg

In 2011 and 2012, a working group consisting of a. from representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and the State Fire Brigade Association, both the previous concept of the ranks of the volunteer fire brigades and the rank badges in Baden-Württemberg were revised. At that time there were two problem areas: The administrative regulation, which regulated the ranks and rank badges of the volunteer fire brigades, already expired in 2006 without replacement. After that there was only one recommendation. The badges of the professional fire departments had not been uniform for a long time. In addition, the state fire brigade association issued its own badges for officials. One of the tasks of the working group was to bring about a standardization of the appearance. In addition, the uniform had to meet contemporary requirements. The uniform used up to now was originally introduced as combat clothing after the Second World War, but has not been used for this purpose for a long time due to its poor protective effect. Today the uniform is used exclusively for representative purposes and should therefore be adapted in appearance.

On October 1, 2013, the new administrative regulation for the state of Baden-Württemberg came into force. All other (also unpublished) decrees and regulations on the subject are invalid. The uniforms used so far can still be worn.

Rank badge according to the administrative regulation for fire brigade clothing

The new administrative regulation describes the following components of work clothing:

Uniform (for representative occasions, shirt color uniformly white)
Work suit (for other business occasions)

The rank badges were completely revised. Volunteers and full-time workers, as well as the fire brigade officials of the professional fire brigades and the authorities, received uniform rank badges in terms of type and form. The rank badges are no longer worn on the upper or lower sleeves, but consistently as epaulettes . The rank badges are based optically, as well as in the system of the ranking, on those of the police in order to enable a comparison. The various officials and consultants also receive their own badges. For this reason, the rank swings that have been used so far, which are unique in Germany, as well as the rank braids are being given up. The rank swings were taken over by the Americans after World War II .

On October 20, 2012, the final concept was presented to the public at the regional fire brigade association assembly in Breisach. The revised administrative regulation for uniforms came into force on October 1, 2013, and was in the association hearing process until April 2013.

Due to the fact that an expensive conversion process to the new uniforms cannot be carried out immediately for many volunteer fire brigades, the administrative regulation allows the old uniforms to be worn without restriction until they expire on September 30, 2020. The old rank badges are therefore also listed for the voluntary fire brigades.

Volunteer firefighter

Rank	Badge according to the old recommendation	Required training or position	Cap cord / uniform buttons
Firefighter on probationary period	No badge	Fire service members after being accepted into the fire service	aluminum-colored-crimson-red striped / aluminum-colored
Fireman / woman firefighter		Completion of the probationary period and troop training part 1 or fire-brigade-specific basic training according to § 6 FwG for musicians
Chief firefighter		firefighter for at least 10 years or at least 3 years of a firefighter as well as completed troop training part 2 and at least one of the following courses: Machinists Respirator wearer Radio operator Fire brigade music D2 course
Chief firefighter		at least 10 years senior firefighter or At least 5 years of senior fire fighter and completed training as a squad leader or fire brigade music D3 course
Extinguishing supervisor		Group leader course or Fire brigade music C1 course
Head fire-fighting master		at least 10 years fire extinguishing supervisor or at least 5 years fire extinguishing supervisor and at least one of the following courses: Instructor for respiratory equipment wearers Trainers for machinists Instructor for squad training part 1 and squad leader Radiotelephony instructor Trainer for youth group leaders Youth fire brigade Fire brigade music C2 course
Main extinguishing supervisor		at least 5 years senior fire chief
Fire chief		Train driver course or Head of a music department or staff leader , if the corresponding courses at the state fire brigade school and the fire brigade-specific basic training according to § 6 FwG for musicians have been completed Highest rank for deputy department commander in a district with up to 15,000 inhabitants	aluminum colored / aluminum colored
Chief fire chief		at least 10 years fire chief or at least 5 years of fire chief and training for association leaders, but only if the highest rank provided for the fire brigade or department commander is at least the chief fire chief Highest rank for: Deputy fire brigade commanders in a community with up to 15,000 inhabitants, Department commander in a district with up to 15,000 inhabitants, deputy department commander in a district with more than 15,000 inhabitants
Main fire chief		at least 10 years senior fire chief, provided that the highest grade provided for the fire brigade or department commander is at least the chief fire chief Highest rank for: Fire brigade commanders in a community with up to 15,000 inhabitants, Deputy fire brigade commanders in a community with more than 15,000 inhabitants, Department commanders in a district with more than 15,000 inhabitants
Leading main fire supervisor		Fire brigade commander in a community with more than 15,000 inhabitants

Professional fire brigade and fire brigade members with appropriate career training

Medium fire service

Rank	Required training or position	Cap cord / uniform buttons
Fire chief candidate up to the career course	Appointment under civil service law or comparable categorization	aluminum colored / aluminum colored
Fire chief (A7)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable categorization and career course according to APrO mD
Chief Fire Officer (A8)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Chief Fire Chief (A9)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Main fire chief with allowance, (A9)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification

High-class fire service

Rank	Required training or position	Cap cord / uniform buttons
Candidate Fire Chief Inspector	Appointment under civil service law or comparable categorization	gold-colored-aluminum-colored striped / aluminum-colored
Fire Inspector (A9)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable categorization and career course according to APrO gD or promotion according to LBG
Chief Fire Inspector (A10)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Fire chief (A11)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Fire Department Council (A12)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Fire Department Council (A13)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Fire chief council with allowance (A13 Z)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification

Higher fire service

Rank	Required training or position	Cap cord / uniform buttons
Fire trainee	Appointment under civil service law or comparable categorization	gold-colored / gold-colored
Fire Council (A 13)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification and fire assessor examination according to APrO hD or promotion according to LBG
Chief Fire Council (A 14)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Fire Director (A 15)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
Chief Fire Director (A 16)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
City Director (B 2)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification
City Director (B 3)	Appointment under civil service law or comparable classification

Positions u. Inspectors

Service position	Badge according to the old recommendation	Cap cord / uniform buttons
Deputy Department commander (as HLM)	No equivalent	aluminum-colored-crimson-red striped / aluminum-colored
Department Commander / Deputy Fire brigade commander (as OBM)		aluminum colored / aluminum colored
Fire brigade commander (as Ltd. HBM or HBM)		aluminum colored / aluminum colored
Fire brigade commander (as BrOAR mZ)	No equivalent	gold-colored-aluminum-colored striped / aluminum-colored
Deputy Fire Brigade Commander / Deputy Head of LFS (as BrD)	No equivalent	gold-colored / gold-colored
Fire Brigade Commander (as Ltd. BrD)	No equivalent	gold-colored / gold-colored
Deputy District fire supervisor	No equivalent	aluminum colored / aluminum colored
District fire supervisor		gold-colored / gold-colored
District fire chief / head of the LFS		gold-colored / gold-colored
State fire director		gold-colored / gold-colored