site.btaSeptember 14, 1905: Bulgarian Firefighters Hold First Congress

The First Firefighters' Congress in Bulgaria opened in Sofia on September 14, 1905. As throughout Europe, the consolidation of fire services in Bulgaria was aimed to improve and standardize training and develop the services' technical equipment. According to information from the Ministry of Interior, 17 fire commanders and 10 commanders of volunteer brigades took part in the congress.

They discussed the state of the fire brigades and their technical equipment, rules for the organization of municipal fire brigades, and a draft statute for volunteer fire-fighting brigades. During the congress, an association of fire commanders was established and a decision was taken to publish the magazine Pozharno delo (Firefighting) as its official publication.

The firefighters' association represented firefighters in proposals and negotiations with the government. The tradition of periodically holding congresses of fire commanders was established.