Austria’s volunteer firefighters praised as funding needs rise

Austria’s extensive volunteer fire service has helped it respond quickly to major forest fires, while the country’s fire chiefs are calling for more government funding, ORF reported. Hundreds of firefighters recently assisted voluntarily and without pay during two major fires in the Föhrenwald forest.

The fires occurred in the municipality of St. Egyden am Steinfeld in the Neunkirchen district. Roman Sykora, secretary general of the World Firefighters Association, said Austria was comparatively well equipped because of its strong volunteer system.

About 99 percent of Austria’s firefighters work on a voluntary basis, Sykora said. They respond during their free time, at night and on weekends, including in extreme temperatures.

Austria has professional fire brigades only in its six largest cities: Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt. Sykora said this was not a disadvantage. Together with Slovenia, Austria has the highest number of volunteer firefighters in the world relative to its population, he said.

A dense network of fire stations, including in small towns and villages, also allows the first responders to reach emergencies within minutes, whether they involve forest fires, house fires or hazardous-material incidents.

Speed and access to the affected area are especially important in forest fires, Sykora said. The Föhrenwald was easily accessible, but fires in France, Spain and Greece often start in remote locations, delaying the arrival of emergency crews.

Austrian firefighters have supported almost 100 operations across Europe in the past decade through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, according to European Commission data seen by ORF. These included forest fires in France, Greece and North Macedonia. A team from Lower Austria is currently on standby in Sardinia.

Austria, by contrast, has requested international assistance only six times in the same period. One example was the huge forest fire in the Rax region in 2021, when firefighting helicopters and aircraft from Germany, Italy and Slovakia were deployed in Lower Austria.

Lower Austria’s state fire chief, Dietmar Fahrafellner, said the annual budget of 140 million euros for Austria’s fire services was insufficient. Firefighters needed specialist equipment such as large water tankers and helicopter water buckets, he said.

Fahrafellner called on the federal government to provide more support, saying fire festivals and donations were not enough and that municipalities could no longer carry the burden alone. He said the budget for the fire services should at least be doubled.