Vigili del Fuoco

Autopompa Iveco Baribbi 190-26 of the Vigili del Fuoco

The first public firefighting organization in the western world was probably the "Vigiles", a military structured body with fire control and rescue duties that protected the city of Rome in the early centuries A.C. Two stations can be still visited in Rome (The "VII Coorte" and the "Ostia Antica" barracks). Their name has been adopted some 19 century later for the new Italian national firefighters organisation. During the Calabrian-Sicilian earthquake in 1908, fire brigades from different Italian towns had faced many problems caused by lack of coordination in equipment and operative instructions. The Fascist government, via the Ministry of the Interior, commissioned the design and creation of a unified fire protection body to Albert Giombini (born in Jesi on 18 July 1898). The Vigili del Fuoco, established in 1941, merged all the fire protection bodies previously existing in various towns and countries. The body played an important role in relieving the civilian population affected by bombing.
In 1942 the "Santa Barbara Battalion" was created after the Italians' retreat from Russia, and the defeat in the Battle of El Alamein. In this phase of the war, the German-Italian Allies planned to invade the island of Malta, then a British possession, using the ladders of the fire brigade, to be mounted on mine-layers. The soldiers (in this plan) could walk the ladders up to the island's territory. Giombini secretly asked all the 94 corps for a list of volunteers; it was necessary a strict selection for the manpower recruiting since the answers were numerous .

The operation, called "C3" by Italians and "Herkules" by Germans, however, was abruptly cancelled in October 1942, and the Battalion was disbanded. In early November, under increasing Anglo-American bombing raids on Italian towns, the men were divided into five groups, each with 100 men, and sent in the cities hardest hit by enemy bombs (Turin, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Milan) to aid the local Fire Commands. The ladders were returned to the Commands and the men who had been part of the Battalion were authorized to wear on the uniform the special badge of the "Santa Barbara".[2]

In 1989 the National Fire Corps was awarded the appointment of "goodwill ambassador" by the Italian Committee for 'UNICEF'. "Yes for Children", a manifesto for children's rights, is one of the campaigns it took part in.

In 2016 the Corp was awarded by the "Conrad Dietrich Magirus Award", the most important international firefighters contest in the world. The Italy's fire department were honoured as "International Firefighting Team of the Year" with this motivation: "Earthquake helpers are distinguished for extraordinary performance and teamwork".

Firefighters in Italy are officers of the state. National Fire and Rescue Service is part of the Department that depends on the Ministry of the Interiors. The Department of firefighters, public rescue and civil defense (Dipartimento dei Vigili del Fuoco, del Soccorso Pubblico e della Difesa Civile) is composed by eight central directorates, eighteen regional offices and 103 provincial commands. There are around eight hundred stations throughout the country.

The fire department operates its own nationwide radio network that is fail-safe. From 2021, the fire department's radio network was converted to TETRA digital trunked radio. Digital UHF-Base stations and servers were set up nationwide and in the autonomous regions. A fail-safe nationwide analog radio network was already in operation the decades ago.[3]

Vigili del fuoco in a parade on 2 June in Rome.

Emergency teams work throughout the country. Detachments of Vigili del Fuoco in each province are controlled by a coordinating command authority. In response to emergency calls, local operation rooms decide on the level of response and type of equipment needed, and liaise with local police and other emergency services.
Operating personnel may be permanent or volunteer. The latter is distinguished by the presence of a white frieze on the badge of status.

Each team consists of 5 or 6 people and is coordinated by a team leader or by the fireman with the longest field experience. He is distinguished from other firefighters by the red frieze and the red helmet. The rest of the team consists of Vigili Permanenti or of volunteers with several years of "seniority".[4]

Since 5 December 2005 the firefighters are no longer conscripts; citizens can subscribe to the civil service for a year. They are appointed to logistical and clerical services.

The head of the Department of Firefighters, Public Rescue and Public Protection is a prefect, appointed by the Minister of the Interior, who does not belong to the corps; the head of the CNVVF is a general manager from the body and wears a uniform.

Staff becomes operative after six months of physical and professional training in Rome. A special course entitles grants some firefighters to run emergency vehicles.

Operative staff has functions of judicial police, public safety, and fire prevention. The brigade's main task is to identify the causes of fires, in collaboration with other police forces.

"Discontinuous" volunteer fighters are former conscripts who have subscribed to the body, or citizens who have taken a specific course at the local Commands. Discontinuous volunteer brigades serve either at the Provincial Commands and local detachments, or at specific volunteer detachments.

The Servizio Amministrativo Tecnico Informatico (Computer Technician Administrative Service), or SATI, supports the operational staff in all administrative and accounting tasks. It employs professionals with skills in computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunications.
SATI's personnel can be used in support of operational structures in places affected by major disasters or emergencies, where they assist operative staff. Each Command has IT specialists as administrators of the internal networks of the various Provincial, Regional and/or central offices, or as system analysts and programmers to develop the software used by the corps.

The Fire Service band was formed in the late 1930s, it consists of more than 60 members from various Provincial Commands of Italy. They perform at both official and unofficial ceremonies: parades, festivals, concerts, etc. All the performers have a diploma from a national Music School and are employed in regular service.

The current rank system dates from 2007, while the matching military styled insignia are from 2012.

Rank	English	Epaulette	Chest badge for operational uniform	Wrist badge	Fregio for cap	NATO Code equivalent
Managers
Dirigente generale Capo del Corpo	Chief general manager of the corps					OF-8
Dirigente generale	General manager					OF-7
Dirigente superiore di livello C	Superior manager C-level					OF-6
Dirigente superiore di livello D dirigente superiore medico dirigente superiore ginnico-sportivo	Superior manager D-level Medical superior manager Gymnastic-sport superior manager					OF-6
Primo dirigente di livello E	First manager E-Level					OF-5
Primo dirigente di livello F Primo dirigente medico Primo dirigente ginnico-sportivo	First manager F-Level Medical first manager Gymnastic-sport first manager					OF-5
Directors
Direttore vice dirigente con funzioni del dirigente di livello E	Director vice-manager with functions of the E-level manager					OF-4
Direttore vice dirigente Direttore medico vice dirigente Direttore ginnico-sportivo vice dirigente	Director vice-manager Medical director vice-manager Gymnastic-sport director vice-manager					OF-4
Direttore Direttore medico Direttore ginnico-sportivo	Director Medical director Gymnastic-sport director					OF-3
Vice direttore Vice direttore medico Vice direttore ginnico-sportivo	Vice director Medical vice director Gymnastic-sport vice director					OF-1
Inspectors and deputy fire directors
Sostituto direttore antincendi capo esperto	Deputy director fire chief expert					OR-9
Sostituto direttore antincendi capo	Deputy director fire chief					OR-9
Sostituto direttore antincendi	Deputy fire director					OR-9
Ispettore antincendi esperto	Fire inspector expert					OR-9
Ispettore antincendi	Fire inspector					OR-8
Vice ispettore antincendi	Vice fire inspector					OR-8
Team and Department Heads
Caporeparto esperto	Department head expert [note 1]					OR-7
Caporeparto	Department head					OR-7
Caposquadra esperto	Foreman expert					OR-6
Caposquadra	Foreman					OR-5
Firefighters
Vigile del fuoco coordinatore	Firefighter coordinator					OR-4
Vigile del fuoco esperto	Firefighter expert					OR-4
Vigile del fuoco qualificato	Qualified firefighter[note 2]					OR-4
Vigile del fuoco	Firefighter					OR-4
Volunteers
Tecnico antincendi volontario	Voluntary fire technician
Caporeparto volontario	Voluntary department head
Caposquadra volontario	Voluntary foreman
Vigile del fuoco volontario	Voluntary firefighter

• Villa Bellavista (Borgo a Buggiano)
• Carate Brianza[5]
• Chiavenna[6]
• Milano[7]

• Vigiles, the firefighters and police of Ancient Rome.
• Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State
• Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Rosse

• Official site
• Fire Prevention
• Associazione Vigili volontari Italia (Volunteer Fire Association)
• Port fire service of Augusta
• The Conrad Dietrich Magirus Award