The southernmost Austrian fire department is not located in Carinthia or Styria, as one might think, but rather provides its services around 2,500 kilometers southeast of the Austrian border in Lebanon.
Since November 14, 2011, the Austrian Armed Forces have been providing a 22-strong fire department for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as part of a multi-role logistics unit. This fire department is responsible for fire protection and fire-fighting measures at Camp Naqoura, the headquarters of this international peacekeeping force. Despite the long distance from home, traditions are also maintained here: As befits an Austrian fire department, a celebration was held at the beginning of May in honor of the patron saint of fire departments, Saint Florian. This was possible due to the fact that there is not a single suspected case of coronavirus within the UNIFIL force and appropriate protective and distancing measures were observed.
In addition to numerous guests from the Austrian contingent, the fire department commander also welcomed the contingent commander and the company commander of the “Multi Role Logistic Unit” and, after a service, briefly summarized the tasks of the fire department. After all, the fire department has already had 41 deployments since December 2019, although a large proportion of these were due to false alarms. However, in addition to the task of responding to incidents, a significant part of the fire department’s work also involves training headquarters personnel in the use of first aid equipment. Around 25 such training sessions were held in this context.
However, knowledge is not only passed on within the UNIFIL force; the training of firefighters from the Lebanese Civil Defense is also part of the Austrian fire department’s mission in Lebanon. Since December 2020, two “Advanced Fire Trainings” have been planned and carried out for the Lebanese fire departments, in which fire department commanders have received theoretical and practical training in fire spread and modern extinguishing techniques. Unfortunately, two further training sessions had to be postponed for the time being due to the coronavirus pandemic. For all the soldiers of the Austrian contingent, this small celebration was a welcome change from their everyday duties, as such an event gives them a little sense of home away from family and friends.
