Ranks of the fire brigade in North Rhine-Westphalia

Volunteers in the volunteer fire brigade

Rank

The following table shows the ranks and the associated badges, as they are intended for the volunteer members of the volunteer fire brigades in NRW. The insignia on the left sleeve will gradually against epaulets replaced. The table, which is taken from the official annex to the VOFF NRW (as of May 27, 2017), also lists the requirements that must be met for transportation. When leaving active duty and thus transferring to the honorary department, a 4 mm wide strand in ultramarine blue is added to the outer edge of the shoulder flap.

Rank	Epaulette	Sleeve badge	Requirements / qualifications
Fireman Candidate			after taking up active service during the probationary period
Firefighter			after passing the probationary period
Upper fireman / woman			at least 2 years as a firefighter and successful completion of the troop training
Chief firefighter			at least 5 years senior firefighter and regular participation in active service in the volunteer fire brigade
Sub-fire master			At least the main firefighter or at least one year senior firefighter and the successful completion of the squad leader training
Fire chief			At least 2 years under fire supervisor and successful completion of the group leader basic course at the institute of the fire brigade North Rhine-Westphalia
Chief Fire Officer			at least 2 years of fire chief and regular participation in active service and in advanced training events
Chief fire supervisor			at least 5 years senior fire chief and regular participation in active service and in advanced training events
Fire inspector			at least chief fire supervisor and successful completion of the train driver course at the fire brigade institute
Fire chief inspector			at least a fire inspector and successful completion of the association leader course at the fire service institute
Community or city fire inspector			At least fire chief inspector and successful completion of the courses "Introduction to staff work" and "Head of a fire brigade" at the fire brigade institute

Additional service functions

deputy Unit leader (a silver star, above the stripes)
Unit leader (two silver stars next to each other, above the stripes)
deputy Spokesman for the volunteer fire brigade in cities with a professional fire brigade (silver laurel on the right and left above the stripes)
Spokesman for the volunteer fire brigade in cities with a professional fire brigade (silver laurel on the right and left / a silver star above the stripes)
deputy Head of the fire department (silver laurel on the right and left / a silver star)
Head of the fire department (silver laurel right and left / two silver stars on top of each other)
deputy Kreisbrandmeister (golden laurel right and left, a golden star)
District fire master (golden laurel right and left / two golden stars on top of each other)
deputy District fire chief (golden laurel right and left / two golden stars on top of each other, state coat of arms in gold)
District fire chief (golden laurel right and left / three golden stars on top of each other, state coat of arms in gold)
Youth fire department warden or deputy (DJF emblem, in red border, in the middle above the stripes)
Community / city youth fire department supervisor or deputy (DJF emblem, in red-silver drilled border, in the middle above the stripes)
District youth fire department warden or city youth fire department warden of an independent city or deputy (DJF emblem, in a silver border, in the middle above the stripes)
State youth fire brigade warden or deputy (DJF emblem, in a golden border, in the middle above the stripes) - No state-regulated function, but an association function of the Association of Fire Brigades in NRW e. V.

Children's fire brigade or deputy (KiFW NRW emblem, in a red border, in the middle above the stripes)

Community / city children's fire department attendant or deputy (KiFW NRW emblem, in red-silver drilled border, in the middle above the stripes)

District fire department attendant or deputy (KiFW NRW emblem, in a silver border, in the middle above the stripes)

In the area of the music-driving trains, there are the functions of conductor and deputy (red-silver drilled border / red lyre), train or staff leader and deputy (red-silver drilled border / silver lyre) and district or city staff leader and deputy (silver border / silver lyre).

Expert advisor ABC (gold double triangle with the inscription "ABC" and two crossed retorts in the middle, gold)

Medical consultant (gold double triangle with the inscription "MEDIZIN" and Aesculapian staff in the middle, gold)

Consultant pastoral care (golden double triangle with the inscription "SEELSORGE" and the symbol of emergency pastoral care in the middle, gold)

Function badges are worn combined with the rank badge on the shoulder boards. Exceptions: Voluntary fire brigade chiefs and deputies, honorary district fire supervisors and deputies as well as honorary district fire officers and deputies wear the badge regardless of their rank. Specialist advisors and the functionaries of music-making trains also wear function badges regardless of a possible rank.

Function badge

The function marks on the sleeve shown here are also exchanged for epaulettes, so that rank and function are combined in the epaulette.

Deputy unit leader
Unit leader
deputy head of the fire department
Head of the fire department
deputy district fire chief
District fire chief
Youth fire officer and deputy
City / municipality youth fire brigade warden and deputy
District youth fire brigade and deputy

The shoulder flaps to be used according to VOFF NRW (as of May 27, 2017) Annex 2 are:

Deputy unit leader
Unit leader
deputy head of the fire department
Head of the fire department
deputy district fire chief
District fire chief
Youth fire officer and deputy
City / municipality youth fire brigade warden and deputy
District youth fire brigade and deputy

Technical consultants

In addition, there are the following shoulder boards for functionaries of specialist advice. These are to be carried without rank.

Expert advisor ABC
Medical consultant
Expert advisor pastoral care

Fire brigade music

For members of the fire brigade music, there are also function-related shoulder boards. Unlike those of the technical advisors, however, these are to be provided with function symbols. Here, next to the rank, a correspondingly colored lyre is shown.

Fire brigade music candidate
Fire service musician
Senior fire brigade musician
Chief Fire Brigade Musician
Fire brigade musician
Fire brigade music master
Fire brigade chief musician
Main fire brigade music master
deputy conductor
Deputy platoon leader or staff leader and platoon leader or staff leader
Deputy District Staff Leader and District Staff Leader; Deputy City Staff Leader in an independent city and City Staff Leader in an independent city

Professional fire brigade / plant fire brigade / full-time volunteers

Career group 1, second entry office (formerly middle service)

Fire chief candidate ( preparatory service ) Plant fire brigade: Fire fighter candidate
Plant fire brigade: firefighter
Plant fire brigade: Chief firefighter
Fire chief plant fire brigade: Main firefighter
Head fire chief plant fire brigade: fire chief
Chief fire chief
Fire chief (with successful participation in the management training for the middle fire service)
Chief Fire Supervisor (with successful participation in management training for the middle fire service)
Main fire supervisor (with successful participation in the management training for the middle fire service)
Chief fire supervisor (with official allowance) (and successful participation in management training for the middle fire service)

Career group 2, first entry office (formerly senior service)

Fire chief inspector with promotion according to §14LVOFeu
Fire officer with ascent according to §14LVOFeu
Fire Chief Inspector Candidate ( preparatory service )
Fire Chief Inspector (Entrance Office)
Fire chief / woman
Fire Department Councilor
Brandoberamtsrat (until June 30, 2016)

Career group 2, second entry office (formerly higher service)

Fire council with promotion from category 2.1
Chief fire officer with promotion according to §21LVOFeu
Fire trainee (preparatory service)
Fire advice / fire advice plant fire brigade: fire engineer
Chief Fire Officer: Chief Fire Engineer
Fire Director Plant Fire Brigade: Chief Fire Engineer
Head of the plant fire department: Head of the plant fire department
Director of the fire brigade (in some larger cities, e.g. Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, Düsseldorf, Cologne) / director of the institute of the fire brigade / inspector of the fire brigade (Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia )

Helmet labeling

The helmet markings have been bindingly regulated in North Rhine-Westphalia by a decree of the Interior Minister since 1975 and changed in a new decree in 2017. They largely correspond to the standard of most federal states. In general, it is not the rank that is marked, but leadership qualifications. In the case of the professional fire brigade, however, from career group 2.1 (senior service) onwards, only the affiliation to the career group is indicated.

Identification vests

Identification vests are used to unmistakably identify contacts or helpers with special functions at the point of use. They do not reflect ranks or qualifications, but actual functions in action. In some cities and districts, rollers are also used for this.

Since 1998, 4 labels have been recommended for North Rhine-Westphalia by a decree of the Interior Ministry:

yellow - head of operations
white - deployment section leader
green - press officer
white - chief emergency doctor

Further markings are possible according to local regulations. There are also additional colors in other federal states, some of which contradict the North Rhine-Westphalian regulation.

Service cap and cord

Here, too, a distinction is made between the ranks of the volunteer fire brigade and the works and professional fire brigade.

Cap cord	Volunteers	Professional forces
black lacquer tape	FM Candidate Sub-Brand Master	Medium Grade
red and silver cord	Fire chief-chief fire chief	Middle service with Management training (B3)
silver cord	Fire inspector-city fire inspector	Higher service
golden cord	District fire chief-district fire chief and specialist advisors	Higher service
blue-silver cord	Member of the honorary department	Entry into retirement or retirement

Web links

Commons : Insignia of Firefighting in North Rhine-Westphalia - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Ordinance on volunteering in the volunteer fire brigades in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (State Ordinance on the Voluntary Fire Brigade - VOFF NRW). Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
↑ Appendix 1 to the VOFF NRW. May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Annex 2 , to "Regulations on the rank and function badges of the fire brigades, the institute of the fire brigade NRW and the supervisory authorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the helmet markings for executives of the fire brigade; circular of the Ministry of the Interior of July 20 2017 - 7/22/03 - "Section on Functional Designations, accessed August 15, 2018
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Regulations on the sleeve, rank and function badges of the fire brigades, the Institute of the Fire Brigade NRW and the supervisory authorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In : recht.nrw.de. Retrieved January 9, 2019 .
↑ Appendix 3 , on "Regulations on the rank and function badges of the fire brigades, the Institute of the Fire Brigade NRW and the supervisory authorities of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as on the helmet markings for managers of the fire brigade; circular of the Ministry of the Interior from July 20, 2017 - 52.07 .03 - ", Section on Functional Labels, accessed October 18, 2018
↑ Helmet labeling for fire brigade executives, circular of the Interior Minister of April 27, 1978
↑ Helmet labeling for fire brigade executives, circular issued by the Interior Minister on July 20, 2017
↑ Recommendation on the labeling of executives / functionaries, circular of the Ministry of the Interior of February 13, 1998

[1] Ordinance on volunteering in the volunteer fire brigades in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (State Ordinance on the Voluntary Fire Brigade - VOFF NRW). Retrieved December 6, 2017 .

[2] Appendix 1 to the VOFF NRW. May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017 .

[Funktionskennzeichen-3] Annex 2 , to "Regulations on the rank and function badges of the fire brigades, the institute of the fire brigade NRW and the supervisory authorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the helmet markings for executives of the fire brigade; circular of the Ministry of the Interior of July 20 2017 - 7/22/03 - "Section on Functional Designations, accessed August 15, 2018

[BF_DstAbz-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Regulations on the sleeve, rank and function badges of the fire brigades, the Institute of the Fire Brigade NRW and the supervisory authorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In : recht.nrw.de. Retrieved January 9, 2019 .

[Feuerwehrmusik-5] Appendix 3 , on "Regulations on the rank and function badges of the fire brigades, the Institute of the Fire Brigade NRW and the supervisory authorities of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as on the helmet markings for managers of the fire brigade; circular of the Ministry of the Interior from July 20, 2017 - 52.07 .03 - ", Section on Functional Labels, accessed October 18, 2018

[6] Helmet labeling for fire brigade executives, circular of the Interior Minister of April 27, 1978

[7] Helmet labeling for fire brigade executives, circular issued by the Interior Minister on July 20, 2017

[8] Recommendation on the labeling of executives / functionaries, circular of the Ministry of the Interior of February 13, 1998