Activities and organization of volunteer fire brigades in Russia.
Activities and organization of volunteer fire brigades in Russia
Regulations on the volunteer fire brigade
The presence, organization and activities of such a structure in Russia are provided for by law, which sets out the basic principles of the functioning of fire brigades. Such a document is Regulation on the Voluntary Fire Brigade. According to this document, volunteer fire brigades are created in Russia in accordance with the current Federal Law «On Fire Safety». In each individual region, the creation of such an organization is regulated by the law «On Fire Safety» of this particular municipality. In accordance with the Regulation on the Voluntary Fire Brigade, responsibility for the creation and organization of the work of the squad is assigned to the owners of enterprises. The purpose of creating a fire brigade at an enterprise is to ensure compliance with the requirements of current fire safety standards and regulations, orders and instructions of enterprise owners, and to carry out measures to prevent and extinguish fires. Fire brigades are created on a voluntary basis at an enterprise with at least 50 employees. The activities of voluntary fire brigades are as follows: the VFD monitors compliance by employees of a given enterprise, as well as other citizens, with the fire safety regime established for a given enterprise. The responsibilities of the brigades also include conducting explanatory events in order to convey the main provisions of the instructions on fire safety measures. In accordance with the regulation on the voluntary fire brigade, members of the organized team are assigned the functions of checking the condition of fire protection equipment and its readiness for action, the functions of keeping watch on weekends and holidays; assistance in investigating the causes of fires. In the event of a fire, if it cannot be stopped by one's own efforts, the fire brigade employee is obliged to immediately report the incident to the fire department and take all necessary measures to evacuate people, in particular, to ensure that an evacuation plan for people in the event of a fire is posted on the wall of the building.
Organization of volunteer fire brigades
The very name of the fire brigade indicates that organization of volunteer fire brigadesis carried out on a voluntary basis by the members accepted there. In this case, the age of volunteers must be at least 17 years. Each person joining the ranks of a volunteer fire brigade must submit a written application to the name of the head of the enterprise. The head of the enterprise is obliged to organize a preliminary medical examination of those who submitted the application to determine whether they have any contraindications for working in the fire service. The process of organizing volunteer fire brigadesmust include preliminary training according to programs approved by the State Fire Service Department of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of your city. After completing the training, all members of the volunteer squad must pass the test, after which it will be possible to proceed directly to practical activities. Each member of the volunteer fire squad must be able to organize safe behavior during a fire in case of danger. The head of the squad organizes and monitors the conduct of subsequent classes, during which volunteers must study the documents regulating the organization of work on fire prevention and extinguishing, the operation of fire equipment, as well as the fire hazard of the serviced facilities of the enterprise and labor protection rules.
Creation of a volunteer fire squadprovides incentives for its members: they are given preferential rights when applying for jobs in the State Fire Service or departmental fire protection. VFD members who actively participate in ensuring fire safety at the enterprise and extinguishing fires are granted additional leave with pay for up to 6 working days per year, as well as cash bonuses. When creating a volunteer fire brigade, the conditions under which a volunteer can be excluded from the brigade are agreed upon in advance. The grounds for termination of membership in the VFD are: systematic failure to perform or evasion of duties by VFD members; failure to show up for duty in accordance with the approved duty schedule without permission from the appropriate official or unauthorized leaving of duty; violation of discipline; own desire; entry into force of a court sentence on bringing a citizen to criminal responsibility or termination of the brigade's activities at the enterprise.