Every year in Russia on April 30 we celebrate Fireman's Day. This is a professional holiday of fire department workers. Official this day was 350 years after the creation of the first fire department.
On the fire protection holiday there are various events, concerts where veterans are honored. On this day, solemn awards, medals and diplomas are held. But nobody canceled fires and watches. Therefore, duty guards remain in the service.
history of the holiday
What day we celebrate Firefighter Day is due to historical events.
In 1649, on April 30, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered the creation of the first fire service by his decree. Its main task was to extinguish fires in Moscow. All buildings were then wooden, so firemen had to first of all prevent the spread of fire to other houses. In the decree, the king made a clear order of actions and methods of extinguishing fires. Also, a provision was made on the duty and punishment of citizens who caused fires.
Later, in the time of Peter I, the first professional fire detachment and a fire station were created. As a child, Peter I, faced terrible fires and almost fell victim to one of them. Therefore, coming to power, the king paid special attention to firefighting. His offspring - St. Petersburg - Peter I in every possible way protected from fiery destruction and therefore introduced some fire safety measures. This was noticeable even during the construction: the houses were built with fire breaks, the streets were spacious, so that it would be possible to conduct fire-fighting without hindrance. Since 1712 in the city it was forbidden to build wooden houses.
April 17, 1918, Vladimir Lenin signed a decree "On the organization of measures to combat fire." The next 70 years the Day of the Fireman was celebrated on this day. This decree described an entirely new system for organizing fire control measures, and new fire protection tasks were identified. With the collapse of the USSR in the former Soviet republics this holiday is celebrated in different ways.
But the official status of a professional firefighters' holiday in Russia was received relatively recently. It was established by Boris Yeltsin with his decree "On the Establishment of the Day of Fire Protection" in 1999.
Firefighter Day in other countries
In Ukraine, until January 29, 2008, Civil Protection Day was celebrated by Leonid Kuchma. This day united two national holidays: the Day of Fire Fighters and the Day of the Rescuer. Today, according to the decree of Viktor Yushchenko, only the Day of the Rescuer of Ukraine is celebrated. On this date - September 17 - workers of the fire department celebrate their professional holiday together with the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Day of Fire Service is celebrated in Belarus on July 25. On this day in 1853 the first fire department was founded in Minsk. In many European countries this holiday is celebrated on May 4, as it is a day of memory of the Holy Martyr Florian, patron of firefighters. He was born in Austria in 190. Florian served in the Roman troops under the leadership of Aquiline, who ordered him
On May 4, throughout Poland, solemn events dedicated to the Day of the Fireman are held. These are parades, and exhibitions of equipment for extinguishing fires, as well as concerts of the orchestra of the All-Polish Voluntary Fire Service.
This holiday is not floating. Therefore, the Firefighter's Day in 2013, as in 2012, will be celebrated on the same day - April 30.