Volunteer firefighters: a chance to improve Hungarian firefightingTibor Dobson Voluntary firefighting – opportunities for further developmentThe improvement of our country’s fire protection situation and of the efficiency of firefighting is possible by the better involvement of HFA’s member organizations. During the last years there was an advance in it, as well as in the subsidy of voluntary firefighting. Our author suggests to include in the system the majority of the presently approved 689 voluntary firefighting associations for a further development, as according to his point of view the present arriving time could be significantly reduced by that.
Main goal: the improvement of the people’s protection A fire can be controlled efficiently within 10-15 minutes of its start. Due to this, in case of an arrival after 20-25 minutes the rescue of lives and other values is reduced significantly or even cannot be solved. That’s why we count with 15 minutes arrival time for a successful intervention, and this is true in case of eg. road accidents also, with the detail that the rescue of the injured and the necessary interventions for assuring life functions could be started within that time. Knowing this, significant efforts have been made to reduce the arrival time of firefighters in the last decades. Municipal firefighting brigades, disaster management and voluntary firefighting units have been founded. Today 105 professional fire brigades, 42 disaster management units, 60 municipal fire brigades and 689 voluntary firefighting associations are functioning countrywide. In the meantime 63 voluntary firefighting associations assumed the obligations and tasks related to independent interventions. All this resulted that the number of settlements increased where the quicker arrival is assured, but in significant areas the first intervening unit arrives after a long time. According to my opinion the wanted 15 minutes arrival time could be reached by the more intensive involvement of the voluntary firefighting associations in even more areas. The efficient help is depending on two things: celerity and hitting efficiency.
The task of the first intervening firefighting unit is the realization of life rescue, the protection of animals, material values and of the environment, as well as the prevention of the damage extension. In case of a fire the intervention within 10-15 minutes makes possible
Accessibility within 15 minutes The actual location of the professional and municipal fire brigades in the country does not assure the accessibility within 15 minutes and the first efficient intervention in each place. Due to this the improvement of coverage can be solved by the foundation of new firefighting units, which could be realized cost-efficiently by the transformation of the existing voluntary firefighting associations into voluntary firefighting brigades. To this there is a need for:
Interventions and costs in 2022 In 2022 89725 cases emerged. From these 59352 needed firefighting intervention. This meant 162 interventions as a daily average. 98,78% of the cases could be handled by 1 or 2 vehicles which shows the importance of quick arrival, calling our attention to the search of solutions described above. From this point of view the run of interventions is remarkable:
In the meantime, after the earlier increase, from 2017 the then 556 organizations got 600 million HUF subsidy, in average 1,079 million HUF, and in 2023 the then 689 organizations got also 600 million HUF, in average 0,87 million HUF. During that time the inflation was 31,55% according to KSH (National Statistical Office, thus the real value of 2017’s subsidy decreased by 45%. This value does not include 2023’s inflation data which further decreases this value and does not reflect the growing costs of the increasing number of interventions of the last years, eg. the cost of energy, fuel and revisions necessary for functioning and maintenance. There would be a need for the increase of material costs to assure the tranquil functioning of the municipal fire brigades due to the growing operational costs in 2024, eg. the higher prices of electricity, gas, overhead, fuel, services and other material goods, as well as for the increase of full-time firefighters’ wages according to the minimum wage defined in Labor Act. The norm covers the monthly costs only partially, without the additional subsidy their operation cannot be financed from self-effort.
The role of volunteers is essential Based on all this it can be anticipated that it is expedient to improve regional coverage following the present way in order to have firefighting organizations nearer to the cases’ locations, preventing the possibility of major damages. The high running performance of professional units’ firefighting vehicles due to interventions in big distance and the related quick amortization is a national feature. With the further decrease of arrival time the related problems can partially cease, at the same time the acquisition of more vehicles, but with smaller capacity, can be reasonable. With the arrival within 15 minutes, and with less developed technical and human conditions more than 90% of the cases can also be managed within one hour. The elimination of bigger or long lasting cases (eg. flood, inland water, snowing, extended fires in the nature) or of sequential cases (eg. wind storms, accidents) need significant human resource. These can solved efficiently by the integration of volunteers into this system. In case of rarely occurring cases interventions need special equipment and knowledge (eg. alpine technique, diving, and rescue from depth or from a height. The training for these is very costly (equipment, training, maintenance). For this reason it is advisable to impress those special associations which perform these activities during their daily routine. The peak alarm periods happen mainly during the so called vegetation-fire period or during a wind storm and extraordinary rains. In such cases technical and human resource deficit emerges,
Mass or long-lasting cases For the management of these problems I suggest the operation of voluntary units beside the professional brigades. Advantages of the system:
With the integration of the local voluntary forces the conditions of the intervention within 15 minutes for the first intervening units can be established. For this it is necessary to develop and to unify the voluntary firefighting associations, which are categorized according to the protection challenges of the defended location (region) transformed into voluntary fire brigades, and which participate in the unified protection system cooperating with the municipality in an obligatory way. This development must include the definition of technical conditions besides the rethinking of legal and organizational framework. This can mainly solve the peak time human resource deficit which was described as the second problem, as the faster arrival, the larger territorial fragmentation and the bigger staff concentrated in one area make possible a faster remedial action (eg. wind storm in Szabolcs county, floods). As the structure of the interventions shows, with the development of voluntary forces quicker and cheaper firefighting and technical rescue is possible locally. For this vehicles which can be driven with „B” type driving license, would be necessary. Tibor Dobson ff. Brigadier General President of HFA
Interventions of the non-professional firefighters
Overall interventions of the non-professional firefighters
Tibor Dobson
Categorization of the settlements – the possibilities of the further improvement of protective firefighting
In his former article our author suggested the bigger involvement of the voluntary firefighting brigades in order to improve the country’s protective firefighting situation and the efficiency of firefighting. The target is to have firefighting units closer to the events’ locations preventing with this the possibility of major damages. What kind of protection is needed to be founded for this? Today the category of the voluntary firefighting brigades are defined on the base of the equipment of VFB’s which is independent of the size of the given settlement’s size and endangerment. The actual categorization of voluntary firefighting units As mentioned in the introduction, today the categorization of the voluntary firefighting brigades are defined on the base of the equipment of VFB’s which
These are:
The VFBs of the third category cannot be taken into account from the point of view of the country’s fire protection as those do not realize firefighting or technical rescue activity but they actively participate youth educating and tradition protection within their fire prevention activity. They can have contracts with the professional firefighting brigades on the base of 7/2018. (VIII. 23.) BM OKF command. It would be rational to define the expectations on the base of some questions.
What kind of protection goals we define? Categorization of the settlements For this there is a national example as the Government Order no. 234/2011. (XI. 10.) prescribes the categorization of the settlements in 3 categories on the base of the examination of several endangering effects. The order is based on the principle that we cannot talk about any settlement which is not endangered by some natural, industrial or other endangering effect. These endangering effects are named: 1. natural disasters, dangers of natural origin (flood, inland inundations, extraordinary weather, geological dangers /earthquake, landslide, implosion, soil subsidence, coastal erosion/ 2. industrial disaster, dangers of civilizational origin (dangerous materials, factories) nuclear facilities, traffic routes and intersections, dangerous military facilities 3. other dangers (waters, epidemic, air contamination) 4. risks related to critical infrastructure This complex view helps to identify the dangers and categorize the settlements. The methodology can provide a great help because the firefighting activity covers in a significant way the primary protection of the settlements against the endangering effects. Especially the ones described in points 1 and 2, but Covid epidemic also showed that those have a role in case of dangers, too. Following the methodology of the regulation we can proceed that the endangerment of the country is given by the endangerment of its settlements. The endangerment of the settlements can be measured similarly to the group of settlements nearby. The necessary capacity and the expectable workload of a firefighting brigade ordered to defend a given group of settlements is given by the sum of endangerment of the given settlements. For this reason I suggest to categorize the fire brigades, their staff in operation and their technical equipment according to the endangerment of the settlements and the group of settlements. On the base of foreign experience 4-5 categories are sufficient for this. For the objective decisions it is rational:
In this system all the VFBs realizing professional activity (firefighting and rescue) would run a VFB cooperating with the municipality. All this together with the necessary rights and obligations.
Where is the efficiency of VFBs?
Dangers and categorization The pragmatic realization of the already elaborated good solutions related to settlements levels can mean a relevant help to the categorization of settlements from the point of view of their firefighting and technical rescue capacity and also to the definition of the necessary primary protective technical, human and organizational conditions. (The primary protection means the conditions of the first intervention.) The tasks should be defined rationally on the base of the administrative system (settlement, district, county) assuming unique or mass or large scale damages. The primary protection should be planned – according to my opinion – for unique damages. The task of firefighting brigades are:
From the list of the tasks it can be seen that on a local level the tasks are built on the VFBs taking into account the task elements in a decreasing measure, then depending on the size and the characteristic of the damage other organizations should be involved. This means the primary alarm of the local forces on the base of the intervention management decision. The alarm of further forces and equipment can be made on the base of valuing the sign and the TV’s feedback. Categorization of the settlements Let’s take an already functioning system where the locations are categorized on the base of different risk elements in 5 risk classes.
We define standard aspects to define the convenient category related to the measured risk elements. Let’s take as an example a possible categorization! Categorization of the settlements by risks Danger of fire
In the settlements categorized this way the emergency forces defined by classes must be maintained.
Technical and natural dangers T 1 Less than 8 meter high buildings, agricultural real estates including peripheral farms, areas with weekend houses with gardens, campings and local transport. T 2 Max. 12 meter high buildings, commercial facilities (workshops bigger than 300 m2, storehouses bigger than 1500 m2, hostels with more than 12 beds), small transit traffic, and large forests. T 3 Max. 18 meter high buildings, shops, , commercial facilities bigger than 1500 m2, normal transit traffic. T 4 Buildings higher than 18 meters, hospitals, exhibition halls, shopping centers over 10 000 m2, high apartment, office and commercial buildings, workshops of special risk, large industrial facilities, big transit traffic. T 5 City centers, traffic intersections.
Is voluntary firefighting for free? No it is not! Its costs are:
Which does not exist:
Schedule of the suggestions In order to improve the protection of the population, which is the main goal, it is rational to commence with the fact that a fire can be controlled efficiently within 10-15 minutes of its outburst. For this it is reasonable to create the conditions of the primary intervention. The realization of a development of such a great measure requires longer time and more work, that’s why I suggest a 10 year long development period. In its first half the first steps could be the technical development and the transformation into VFBs of the actually active VFAs in the locations over the 15 minutes intervention areas, and where there no VFAs, the motivation of their foundation. The possible steps:
Minimal technical requirements I suggest to define the minimal technical requirements on the base of the population to be protected:
Control By financing the costs of obligatory tasks the state controls the security of the prescribed outgoing performance, namely the security of the citizens’ basic rights (to property, to life, to physical integrity) (The force capable for efficient intervention arriving to the location of damage within the given time.)
Coordination As a huge progress, the Act no. XXXI. of 1966 made it possible for VFAs to realize independently professional activity in their assumed operative area. In case of specific cases (outdoor fires, water pumping, tree falls, cases without direct life-threatening situations etc.) they can intervene independently after getting the alarm. The extension of this for a greater number of VFBs and at the same time the motivation of founding VFBs on the locations of PFBs can create new possibilities and cost-efficient solutions in order to defend the life and material goods of the citizens. By this VFBs can realize their activity integrated in the state’s governance as members the Hungarian Firefighting Association which association as a public body, cooperating with the organizations of disaster management, coordinates its members activity in the tasks of preparation for disasters, the protection against disasters and in reconstruction and re-building. HFA takes care of the coordination of non-professional firefighting organizations besides the professional supervision of the central disaster management organization. Furthermore HFA keeps contact with foreign firefighting organizations and participates in the activity of foreign and European firefighting organizations, and is also represented in the International Firefighting Association (CTIF). HFA also contributes to the development and fortification of VFBs operating in areas with Hungarian population over the border. Tibor Dobson ff. Brigadier General President of HFA |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Magyar Tűzoltó Szövetség
Elnök: Dobson Tibor tűzoltó vezérőrnagy
Cím: 1081 Budapest, Dologház u. 1.
Elnök: Dobson Tibor tűzoltó vezérőrnagy
Cím: 1081 Budapest, Dologház u. 1.
Telefon: +36 1 433 4001
E-mail: office@tuzoltoszovetseg.hu
E-mail: office@tuzoltoszovetseg.hu