International Firefighters' Day
Next: May 4, 2027
Thank those who run towards the fire.
The story
Where it comes from
International Firefighters' Day was started in 1999 by JJ Edmondson, a volunteer firefighter in Victoria, Australia. In December 1998 five volunteer firefighters from Geelong West lost their lives when a sudden wind change turned a bushfire near Linton onto their tanker. The letters of support that followed moved her to propose a single day, worldwide, to honour all firefighters. She chose 4 May, the feast of St Florian, the patron saint of firefighters, which much of Europe has long kept as a firefighters' day.
How it's celebrated
Supporters wear a ribbon of blue over red, for water over fire, the colours of the emergency services. On the first Sunday of May, brigades in many countries hold a 'Sound Off', honouring firefighters' service with sound rather than a minute's silence. For everyone else it is a day to thank the crew at the local fire station, and to check the smoke alarm at home.
Did you know
- The proposal for the day was first sent out by email on 4 January 1999, with a request to forward it to every brigade, magazine and fire organisation people knew.
- St Florian was an officer of the Roman army in Noricum, in what is now Austria, and he is also a patron of Poland and of the city of Linz.
- Malaysians call their fire and rescue service Bomba, a word with Portuguese roots rather than an acronym; in Portuguese, firefighters are bombeiros.
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