Fire services from all over the world train at the International Fire Academy

The province of Zeeland (NL) has 64 fire stations with 1 200 volunteers. In order to prepare for operations in the Westerschelde and Sluiskil tunnels, firefighting teams travelled to the International Fire Academy for the first time in 2014. They trained there together with colleagues from the professional fire services of the main stations in Koegors and Borsele. At 6.6 kilometres, the Westerschelde Tunnel is the longest tunnel for road traffic in the Netherlands and is a vital traffic link between Terneuzen and Ellewountsdijk. The deepest point of this tunnel is 60 metres below sea level.

There is close cooperation between the International Fire Academy and the Baden-Württemberg State Fire Service School (LFS) in Bruchsal. The first joint courses to prepare for operations in road tunnels were held back in 2009. Ten years later, courses for incidents in railway tunnels were added. Officers are trained to pass on the knowledge and experience they have gained to their own fire services (see magazine article State Fire Service School optimises tunnel train-the-trainer courses). Representatives of the LFS were also involved in developing the Tunnel Firefighting Procedure in the Didactics and Development Team of the International Fire Academy so that the jointly developed procedure would also be suitable for Baden-Württemberg.

People in Brussels use public transport for more than one million journeys per day. 75 kilometres of tunnels connect the 69 metro stations. There are also around 10 kilometres of tunnels for trams. To prepare for incidents in these underground transport systems, the Brussels Fire Service launched its training programme at the International Fire Academy in 2014 with a pilot course for 20 instructors and officers, which was followed by further courses. The training was financed by the Brussels transport company STIB, which expects passenger numbers to continue to rise.

60 Bundeswehr fire services with 600 vehicles are responsible for fire protection at Bundeswehr facilities in Germany. The approximately 3,600 firefighters deal with incidents at airfields, naval landing facilities, military training areas, logistical facilities and defense technology and defense science departments.

For operations in the underground facilities, the Bundeswehr Firefighting and Fire Protection Centre has sent firefighters to the International Fire Academy.

14 colleagues from the Seattle Fire Department came to the International Fire Academy at the end of 2022 to gather ideas for developing their own tunnel operations procedure. For a week, they tested the tactics and techniques of the Swiss tunnel rescue services under realistic operating conditions at the training facilities in Balsthal and Lungern. They discussed the content of the teachings - in particular the principle of «extinguish in order to rescue» - intensively with their Swiss colleagues at the Tactics Centre to develop their own standard procedures (see magazine article Seattle Fire Department tests Swiss Tunnel Firefighting Procedure).

The VDE 8.1 high-speed rail line through Thuringia (D) is characterized by a unique sequence of 19 tunnels and bridges over a distance of around 30 km. This route is an example of the special challenges posed by the transport infrastructure in this federal state. The training of firefighters for operations in railroad and road tunnels is organized by the State Fire Service and Disaster Control School in Bad Köstritz in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior (see magazine article Thuringian Fire Service School uses adventure-based education in tunnel training).

Currently, around 20 officers from various fire services are trained each year as multipliers in Köstritz and at the International Fire Academy. In order to meet the much higher training requirements, the state is investing 27 million euros in a railroad training tunnel.

The Escola National de Bombeiros (ENB; Portugal's national firefighting school) organised an intensive road tunnel course for instructors from the ENB, the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Lisbon Fire Service in Balsthal in 2023. This course had a special significance for the island of Madeira, as it is streaked with tunnels: Roads and hiking trails lead through 150 tunnels over a distance of 100 kilometres. The longest measures 3.2 kilometres and connects the municipalities of Faial and Santana. Of particular interest to the participants was the transfer of knowledge in order to link the new experiences with their didactic approach (see magazine article Tunnel training for fire services from Portugal's «Island of Tunnels»).

Bavaria's oldest and youngest fire service school (SFS) organises the training of fire service personnel for operations in railway and road tunnels. The training courses are divided into two parts: The basic training in theory and practice takes place at the respective fire service school. Course participants travel to the International Fire Academy to use the training tunnels for the operational drills.

Recommendations have been drawn up to ensure a standardised approach to operations throughout the state of Bavaria, outlining the basic principles of operational tactics and minimum standards.

The airport fire service at BER Berlin responds to around 3,000 calls per year from its three locations on the airport grounds - from medical emergencies and technical assistance to firefighting operations (see magazine article Experience with virtual reality in fire service training at the BER). The 3 km long railway tunnel under Terminal 1 is also part of the operational area.

The members of the airport fire service have prepared for operations at the International Fire Academy and through training on site. Since 2024, the airport fire service has had its own training facility with two S-Bahn cars to train firefighting and the search and rescue of passengers.

Firefighters from the province of Hualien in Taiwan have travelled the furthest to Balsthal so far. The participants fly almost 10 000 kilometres to Switzerland to prepare intensively for five days of operations in road tunnels. Always accompanied by an interpreter. The courses are always fully booked with 24 participants. In addition to the practical training in Balsthal and Lungern, the guests from Taiwan take the opportunity to go on specialist field trips, for example, to the Gotthard Road Tunnel.

In April 2024, the media became aware of the tunnels in Hualien when people were trapped in tunnels after a severe earthquake.

Seit 2014 ist die Flughafenfeuerwehr München mit 250 Feuerwehrangehörigen die grösste Werkfeuerwehr Bayerns (D). From the two stations, the firefighters can reach any point on the apron and runway in a maximum of 3 minutes. The location of the airport, almost 30 km from Munich city centre, underlines the importance of road, rail and S-Bahn connections. This means that several kilometres of railway lines are part of the airport fire services' operational area. The rail link is still being expanded, so the airport fire service is also preparing for growing challenges in the future tunnels.

The topic of firefighting in underground transport systems has been a focus of fire service officer training in Dortmund since 2022. In the first year, four pilot seminars were organised in cooperation with the International Fire Academy in Balsthal. As part of the training, the Dortmund professional fire service also reviewed its existing tactics for operations in underground transport systems and, together with DB Netz, organised a drill at Dortmund Dorstfeld S-Bahn station to test plans for corresponding incidents in practice. In total, the Dortmund professional fire service has around 1 100 employees for fire and rescue service operations.

About operations, training materials, technology, tried and tested resources, hazards and other fire service-related topics in our numerous magazine articles.