Courtesy: Russian fire safety certifications
Russian State Fire Service (Russian: Государственная противопожарная служба, Gosudarstvennaya protivopozharnaya sluzhba) is the highest fire service body of Russian Federation. A part of the Ministry of Emergency Situations since 2001, the State Fire Service is divided into the Federal Fire Service and the Fire Service of the Federal subjects of Russia.
State Fire Service’s 220 000 personnel operate out of 13,600 buildings and structures, including 4000 plus fire stations containing 18,634 fire appliances and 49 fireboats.
The State Fire Service divisions participate in over two million operations a year, rescue over 90 000 lives, save property evaluated as high as 120 billion rubles.
The Institute for Fire Defense and Scientific Research and 70 special laboratories are responsible for the SFS scientific support, new technologies and methods of work.
The first fire service in Russia was established by Czar Alexey Mikhailovich under signed decree named “Direction on Municipal rescue”, which signed on April 30, 1649, in Moscow.
Six months after the October Revolution, on April 17, 1918 Vladimir Lenin signed a decree on organisation of activities for firefighting, which was considered the birth date for the Soviet State Fire service. Up to 2001 the Fire Service was part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
On April 30, 1999, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a directive that declared April 30th as the celebratory date for Fire Services in Russia, 350 years after their creation.
On 2001 the State Fire Service became a citizen body within the Ministry of Emergency Situations, with all 278,000 firefighters transferred after 84 years under the MVD.
In Russia, there are 5 forms of Fire Services, established by Federal Law of the Russian Federation “About fire safety”.
- State Fire Service
- Federal Fire Service
- Fire Service of the Federal subjects of Russia.
- Municipal Fire service
- Departmental Fire Service
- Private Fire Service
- Voluntary Fire Service
Divisions of State Fire Service
Moscow fire station.
Federal Fire Service
The Federal Fire Service (Russian: Федеральная противопожарная служба, Federalnaya protivopozharnaya sluzhba), is an integral part of the State Fire Service and is part of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations).
Its basic functions are:
- Conducts prevention, fire fighting and rescue work –
- at facilities that are critical to the national security of the country, other important fire facilities, the most valuable objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation, for the activities at the federal level with the massive concentration of people;
- in closed administrative-territorial formations, as well as in important organizations and regime;
- Supervises the implementation of the federal executive bodies, executive bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation, local self-government organizations and federal laws, technical regulations and other legal acts in the field of fire safety;
- Exercises operational control of other types of fire protection forces and means involved to extinguish fires at facilities that are critical to the national security of the country, other important fire facilities, the most valuable objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation, as well as for the activities of the federal level with the massive concentration of people;
- Conducts monitoring of the state of fire safety in the Russian Federation is preparing proposals for government agencies and local governments to implement measures in the field of fire safety;
- Conducts fire information and education of the public on fire safety measures;
- Organizes and conducts official statistical records and state statistical reports on fires and their consequences on the territory of the Russian Federation, the performance of operational activities and resources of the Federal Fire Service, Fire Service of the Russian Federation and other types of fire protection;
- Preparing draft legislation Russian Emergencies Ministry in the field of fire safety and organization of the Federal Fire Service
The treaty units of the Federal Fire Service are maintained by the protected objects. Buildings, structures, facilities, fire and other machinery, and equipment, gear and equipment transferred to the use of contractual unit FPS, are the property of the organization and remain on its balance sheet