Fire service competition
The fire service competitions (also known as the fire service Olympiad) are competitions within the Austrian fire service organizations , which serve on the one hand for athletic training and on the other hand to practice and consolidate the actions common in the fire service. There are also various types of competition in the individual federal states.
Depending on the training objective, the competitions are primarily carried out according to the time achieved or primarily according to the accuracy of the work. The evaluation then takes place according to seconds or with good or minus points. Age can also be included in the result with a point evaluation, so that older participants are also motivated to participate and not disadvantaged.
Depending on the competition, there are trophies for the winners or for the participants who reach a certain limit, corresponding badges .
history
The idea of the achievement badges goes back to the military combat badges in the First World War , they are supposed to illustrate the professional training and the competence of the wearer. In the Austrian fire service, the competitions were introduced after the Second World War , but as early as 1925 the first "fire service competition" took place in Gattendorf in Burgenland . In the 1930s, the “tube competition” was also widespread throughout Austria.
Competitions for the fire-fighting attack were held in Styria from 1946. Two years later, the Lower Austrian Fire Brigade Association decided competition regulations based on the Styrian model. Carinthia followed with "fire brigade sports competitions", the first "state championship" took place there on November 5, 1950 in Klagenfurt . On August 4, 1951, the “1. Lower Austrian fire brigade competitions ”held in Haag .
In 1965 uniform national regulations followed, with which the appearance of the badges, the competition regulations and the terminology were regulated throughout Austria: Instead of “competitions” one speaks of “competitions”, the “referees” or “competition judges” have since been called “evaluators”. However, the federal states only gradually adopted the provisions in their entirety.
The first federal fire service competition took place in Vienna in 1964 .
The first competition for the fire service badge in gold took place in Lower Austria in 1958. Federal regulations followed in 1968. In 2003, the Lower Austria Fire Brigade Association modified the regulations. Since 2008, the competition has again been regulated throughout Austria with the "Regulations for the competition for the fire service badge in gold" of the Federal Fire Brigade Association.
After the competitions for the fire fighting attack, the water service badge, the fire department youth badge, the demolition service badge and the radio performance badge were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s.
Federal fire brigade performance competition
The most common competition in Austria is the one to obtain the national fire service badge . There are three groups, in bronze, silver and gold.
Bronze and silver
When competing for the fire service badge in bronze or in silver, fire fighting groups of nine men have to reach a specific goal. The competition consists of two parts. In the first part, an extinguishing attack must be carried out, whereby the complete extinguishing line from the suction head to the jet pipe must be set up. The second part is a relay race of the entire group, whereby one man does not have to run. Each comrade has to carry out his defined actions. The time and the respective errors in execution are assessed.
The difference between bronze and silver is that in the bronze competition each participant knows beforehand which function he has to perform in the group, while in the silver competition the activity within the group is decided immediately beforehand through the lottery .
In order to give older comrades the opportunity to take part, there are also ratings with age points.
The exact rules may vary from country to country, but the basic rules are the same and have even been adopted internationally as part of the Fire Brigade Olympiad that takes place every four years .
In these competitions, on the one hand, all participating comrades who exceed certain performance limits with their groups receive the performance badge. On the other hand, there are still group winners who also receive a trophy or other award such as the golden nozzle or similar. receive.
These competitions take place in the individual district and in the federal state . However, no qualification at the district level is required to participate in state competitions. Federal competitions take place every five years, but only the winners take part.
Depending on the implementation level, the competitions are under the direction of the district command, state or federal fire brigade association, while the organization is the responsibility of the respective fire brigades.
gold
This competition is an individual competition and consists of a theoretical and a practical part. It is also known within the fire service as the “fire service Matura” and is organized by the individual state fire service associations.
In recent years, the implementation of the competition has been revised and adapted to the changed operational requirements. The competition for the fire service badge in gold now also includes many activities that a fire service member can apply in daily practice.
So are z. B. in the practical part to make special knots and in the theoretical part a fire water calculation is to be carried out. Assessing the situation and conducting an operation is also an important component of the competition. But traditional elements such as drill exercises must also be carried out.
The following competition leaders were active in Lower Austria:
- LBD Sepp Kast (1958 to 1976)
- OBR Peter Juster (1977 to 1978 and 2002)
- OBR Alois Mayer (1979 to 2001)
- LFR Karl Graf (2003 to 2016)
- BR Markus Schuster (since 2017)
Water service competition
This competition is specially designed for the water service. There are several different categories / rating classes.
2-Male
- Bronze with no age points
- Bronze with age points
- Silver with no age points
- Silver with age points
- Master class without age points
- Master class with age points
One-man
- Zillen-one common women
- Zillen-One General
- Zillen-One with age points
- Zillen-One Master
- Zillen-One master with age points
Gold scoring
- A rating
- Gold discipline barge driving
In the 2-man competition classes and gold ratings, there is still a category “different FF”, which means that the members come from different fire departments. There is a separate guest rating for participants from other associations.
An average time is calculated from all competition classes (with the exception of gold) and a team ranking is awarded.
The competition process ranges from barge driving to the theoretical part (gold competition), such as knot science (bronze, silver and gold competition) or lifebuoy throw (one-man).
One of the highest number of visitors / applicants for the state water service competitions in Austria took place from August 24th to 27th, 2006 in Emmersdorf an der Donau in the district of Melk / Lower Austria , with around 3,000 firefighting barges starting on 2 weekends.
Radio performance competition
In this competition, the various radio messages about certain events are to be created. A certain basic knowledge of radio technology is also necessary. Knowledge of map studies must also be proven. The competition is also intended to promote the radio discipline required in fire service radio . This individual competition is only available at the state, but not at the federal level.
Training test for technical use
This competition is relatively young, and not a competition in the strict sense, but a so-called training test, as there are neither points nor a ranking. The main focus is not on fast, but correct work - of course within a specified period of time. The training test is carried out in the individual fire brigade and can therefore be adapted to the equipment available in each case. A tank or rescue vehicle and a fire engine are required for this . Everything has to be set up for a technical use in a traffic accident , starting with the barriers, the lighting of the scene , the necessary fire protection and the procedure with the hydraulic recovery equipment on the accident vehicle. The competition will be observed by evaluators from other fire departments. The goal is not speed, but accuracy. On the contrary, if a certain minimum time is not reached, errors are counted twice.
This training test is available in bronze, silver and gold, whereby the comrades know their role in the group in advance for bronze and are determined by lot for silver. In the case of gold, each comrade also has to answer theoretical questions and complete additional tasks.
Two or more fire brigades can work together to enable smaller fire brigades that only have one vehicle. Accordingly, the group can also consist of members from different fire departments. The competition is held at the level of one of the incoming fire departments. The evaluators are mostly from their own district, but are trained and appointed by the state fire brigade association.
Training test extinguishing operations
The fire fighting training test was first introduced in 2005 and is the analogue of the fire service training test for technical operations. Here, a fire fighting group must be able to properly secure, establish the water supply in order to then fight a room fire with heavy breathing protection. In addition, a number of theoretical and practical questions on the topics of lines and knots, management procedures and first aid must be answered.
There are also bronze, silver and gold disciplines for this training exam, as is the case with the fire service test in Styria.
This training exam is held similar to the technical one at the level of one or more fire departments.
Medical performance test
In Styria and Upper Austria, a three-stage medical performance badge can be achieved during the medical performance test. Three fire brigade members each have to solve both theoretical and practical tasks in the medical field .
Radiation protection performance competition
This individual competition is actually not a special fire department competition. It is carried out under the direction of the Radiation Protection School at the Research Center Seibersdorf . It is designed in the same way for all BOS and for the Austrian Armed Forces , but is carried out by the individual organizations themselves under the direction of the research center.
However, the achievement badge is mutually recognized by each organization. The previous training is usually recognized as a substitute for any radiation protection courses at fire brigade schools.
Respiratory protection performance competition
The aim of this competition is to perfect the handling and procedure with a heavy breathing apparatus.
The competition consists of several stations which, depending on the level (bronze, silver and gold), contain different levels of difficulty and other tasks.
The first station is a written test to check the theoretical knowledge.
The second station is about getting dressed properly with mutual help (compressed air breathing apparatus, mask, etc.) and then doing the leak test together.
Then you come to the 3rd station. A human rescue is being carried out here. The victim must be rescued and put in a stable side position.
At the fourth station an internal attack is carried out, which should follow certain rules of conduct (door opening, etc.).
At the 5th and last station, the breathing apparatus must be upgraded and checked.
For the levels silver and gold, the time limits are shortened and the positions are decided by lot. There are also more questions and more tasks such as respiratory protection monitoring and radio.
This competition is very helpful because the behavior and certain processes are trained which are very important for the safe operation of a respiratory protection.
Fire department youth competitions
There are also a number of applications and knowledge reviews among the youth fire brigade. There is a badge for every successful participation in a competition or a knowledge check. Basically, a distinction is made between applications for 10 and 11 year olds and those between 12 and 15 year olds. Another distinction is the level (district, state, federal).
Toughest Firefighter Austria
This is a kind of "Strongest Men" competition that was taken over from America. The competition is designed as an individual competition and divided into four stations. A lot is demanded of the participants here; a high level of perseverance and psychological motivation are required. In this competition, among other things, 2 × 4 B-hoses must be pulled out to 80 m, an 80 kg doll carried 100 m and then overcome a 3 m high escalating wall , as well as two 15 kg canisters up a scaffold and at the end with a breathing apparatus walk to the 10th floor.
While all other competitions are supported by the respective state fire brigade associations and the Federal Fire Brigade Association, this competition has been held as a single event by the Siegendorf volunteer fire brigade in Burgenland since 2004 with the help of sponsors. Participants are not only local firefighters, but also foreign ones, both from volunteer fire brigades and professional fire brigades.
Competition places of the performance competitions in bronze and silver
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The fire service competitions were held in Austria after 1945 in the following venues.
Since 1965 they have been uniformly referred to in Austria as performance competitions. Until then, it was inconsistent like fire competitions or competitive competitions. The term evaluator is also used instead of referee or competition judge or the like. used nationwide for the first time.
The regional associations start counting the competitions with the year in which they held the competitions according to the national regulations. The competition regulations were worked out in Styria and used for the first time by Styrian groups. The Lower Austrian regional association adopted these guidelines in broad outline and applied them nationwide for the first time. As a result, the Lower Austrian regional competition in 1951 is considered the oldest competition in Austria.
Country competitions that were carried out according to their own rules before the official counting are shown in italics .
Federal states: Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria
Federal states: Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, nationwide
See also
Web links
- Toughest Firefighter Austria
- Adolf Schinnerl: Achievement badge of the fire brigades . In: Handbook on fire brigade history . October 2005, accessed on January 10, 2010.
- Competition locations of the Lower Austrian Fire Brigade Association
Individual evidence
- ↑ The fire service badge in gold (FLA gold). District fire department Zwettl, accessed on November 17, 2017 .
- ↑ BDLP fire service test Styria
- ↑ Implementation provisions for the Styrian medical performance test from January 1, 2013, accessed on August 19, 2015.
- ↑ Competitions for the Burgenland Fire Brigade Association. Retrieved June 25, 2018 .
- ^ Competitions for the Carinthian Fire Brigade Association. Retrieved June 25, 2018 .
- ↑ Competitions for the Lower Austria Fire Brigade Association. Retrieved September 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Competitions for the State Fire Brigade Association of Upper Austria. Retrieved April 7, 2016 .
- ↑ State fire service competition 2020 - Sieghartskirchen. Retrieved June 25, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Fixed: 70th Lower Austria fire brigade performance competition 2021 in Sieghartskirchen. In: LFLB 2021. May 13, 2020, accessed June 3, 2020 .
- ^ Competitions for the Salzburg Fire Brigade Association. Retrieved June 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Competitions for the State Fire Brigade Association of Styria. Archived from the original on June 2017 ; accessed on April 21, 2016 .
- ^ Competitions for the Tyrolean Fire Brigade Association. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2016 ; accessed on April 21, 2016 .
- ↑ Competitions for the Vorarlberg Fire Brigade Association. Retrieved November 17, 2017 .
- ↑ Unken volunteer fire brigade: July 1st , 2017 State fire brigade performance competition in Unken from July 2nd, 2017, accessed on July 14th, 2017.