Kraljevo is the first city in Serbia that co-finances voluntary fire brigades

At the very end of last year, at one in Kraljevo, the Decision on the financing of the volunteer fire brigade was adopted, and with the adoption of the Decision on the budget for 2024, an item of five million dinars was found in it, which is the amount of funds set aside for the co-financing of programs and projects of the volunteer fire brigade. societies (DVD) in the territory of Kraljevo this year.

Kraljevo thus became the first city in Serbia to co-finance voluntary fire brigades. The funds were distributed on the basis of a public competition for financing programs and projects of firefighting associations and voluntary firefighting societies, with the aim of providing them with training, better equipment and other items necessary for their functioning. With the representatives of DVD Kraljevo, DVD Mataruška Banja and the City Fire Brigade of Kraljevo, the mayor of Kraljevo Dr. Predrag Terzić signed contracts in the premises of DVD Kamenica.

With the help of friends from Slovenia who appreciate our efforts in the field of volunteer firefighting, we managed to secure several vehicles and trucks for firefighting, Terzić recalled:

– However, it was necessary to provide additional financial resources in order to be able to maintain and repair these vehicles, to register them, and money is also needed for the ongoing training of the people who make up the voluntary fire brigades. The city of Kraljevo therefore decided to help these enthusiasts, people who love their places and who, without any compensation, participate in firefighting.

Terzić added that the decision to allocate five million dinars for volunteer firefighting will be one of the decisions that will be implemented every year.

Milutin Vukosavljević, the president of DVD Kraljevo pointed out that, so far, with the help of the local government, 10 DVDs have been established in the Kraljevo area.

– The bearer of these activities was DVD Kraljevo, with the help of Maribor firefighters and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, i.e. the Department for Emergency Situations. With funds from the city budget, we ensured that medical examinations, procurement of equipment and firefighter training for all ten companies were paid for, as well as that every vehicle was in operation.

According to the rating Zdravko Maksimović, head of the Civil Protection Department of the City Administration, voluntary firefighting is not only important when it comes to actions to extinguish forest fires:

– The volunteer fire department has a really big role in dealing with floods, pandemics or emergencies. Then every trained individual means a lot for the protection and rescue system, and it also means in the support of the population and business entities. In this way, we are increasing the capacities of the City Headquarters for emergency situations, as well as the civil protection system.

In Kamenica, city leaders, representatives of DVD, the Department for Emergency Situations and the Department for Civil Protection, visited the premises of DVD equipped with rooms for the accommodation of members of the society, as well as guests.

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There is a long tradition of voluntary firefighting societies in Serbia, because the first ones were founded during the reign of Prince Miloš Obrenović, when in 1834 the Firefighting Decree was passed. In 1933, King Aleksandar promulgated the Law on the Organization of Firefighting in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which defines the jurisdiction of fire protection by professional, voluntary and industrial firefighting units, and already in the same year, the Royal Voluntary Fire Company (predecessor of DVDKraljevo) was formed.

The founders of the society were citizens with their financial contributions. DVD Kraljevo today has 215 members, 30 members of the Operative Fire Department with a completed professional exam in the field of fire protection and completed health examinations, 10 with training for members of the DVJ, and within the society a Women’s Section, a project team, a youth club and a Fire Orchestra were established 27 September.