Karlovački vatrogasci are celebrating three major anniversaries this Saturday. On the occasion, the city's residents were presented with fire-fighting equipment and technology, and a demonstration exercise was held.
The event marks 155 years since the establishment of the Karlovac Volunteer Fire Department, 55 years for the Karlovac City Fire Department, and 60 years since the 3rd International Firefighters' Competition held in Karlovac. Last year, Karlovac was the host of the world-renowned World Rescue Challenge.
The history of local fire-fighting is marked by gold medals. Firefighters from the Karlovac DVD won gold at the competition in Bad Godesberg, West Germany, in 1961, as well as gold at the competition in Mulhouse, France, in 1963.
The organisation of the international event was entrusted to the Fire Association of Yugoslavia. The Presidium of the Association considered the applications from 21 cities for hosting the competition, and due to the best conditions provided, Karlovac was chosen as the host. The President of the SFRY, Josip Broz Tito, was declared the patron of the event. The decision that the honour of hosting the fire competition would fall to Karlovac was confirmed at a meeting of the CTIF Standing Committee in Riv, Italy, where the regulations and programme of the competition were also determined. The magazine 'Protivpožarna zaštita' regularly published material related to the holding of the fire competition.
Accommodation for competitors and visitors was provided in state and private tourist facilities, with 600 beds in hotels and 200 in private homes, while the accommodation of competitors was arranged in the 'Petrova gora' competition camp. The federal selection for the representatives of Yugoslavia was held on 2 and 3 July in Karlovac. A total of 10 teams qualified for the competition, including the team from the Professional Fire Brigade of Varaždin, while the DVD Karlovac, as hosts, qualified directly.
On Tuesday, 6 September, the 3rd International Firefighters' Competition was officially opened. At the opening, 1,200 competitors were present. The competition was opened by the representative of the President, the Federal Secretary for Internal Affairs, Milan Mišković, and the letter of President Josip Broz Tito to the competitors was read. On 7 September, the President visited Karlovac and the competition, accompanied by his wife and high-ranking officials, and met with representatives of the Fire Association and the CTIF, as well as visiting the fire equipment exhibition.
The competition was attended by 86 teams, including one women's team, from 13 countries, with 860 competitors. 11 teams each from Austria, Yugoslavia, and West Germany, 10 teams each from Belgium, France, and Italy, 7 teams from Denmark, 5 teams from Czechoslovakia, 4 teams from Poland, 3 teams each from the Netherlands and Hungary, and 2 teams from Luxembourg. The competition was held in the disciplines of 'fire attack exercise without the use of water' (exercise with a pump) and a hurdle race. At this competition, the team from Czechoslovakia and the team from Germany made their debut, while the team from the Soviet Union and the team from Italy also participated.
The official programme of the competition was held on 7, 8, and 9 September. Both teams from Croatia won bronze medals. The team from the Karlovac DVD consisted of: Josip Gašparac, Berislav Foschi, Boris Šef, Vjekoslav Pavlek, Ivan Polović, Marijan Besednik, Stjepan Brozović, Juraj Ćuk, Andrija Petrić, and Stanko Skupnjak.
