State Fire Service

State Fire Service
Państwowa Straż Pożarna; PSP
	; State Fire Service headquarters in Warsaw
Agency overview
Formed	1 July 1992
Preceding	Zawodowa Straż Pożarna;
Jurisdiction	Poland
Headquarters	Warsaw
Parent agency	Ministry of Interior and Administration (Poland)
Website	http://www.straz.gov.pl/

State Fire Service (Polish: Państwowa Straż Pożarna, PSP) is a professional fire fighting (24h) service of Poland. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The history of fire fighting services in Poland dates to the medieval times. The modern State Fire Service is based on the 1992 legislation.

State Fire Service covers the entire territory of Poland. In all the second-level units of local government and administration in Poland - powiat (county, district) -, fire brigades operate district headquarters (Komenda Powiatowa Państwowej Straży Pożarnej), city headquarters in bigger cities (Komenda Miejska Państwowej Straży Pożarnej) with command posts and dispatch centers alongside one or several fire stations (Jednostka Ratowniczo-Gaśnicza JRG). They are subject to 16 provincial headquarters (Komenda Wojewódzka Państwowej Straży Pożarnej).

Professional firefighters (PSP) respond immediately after the alarm and are often assisted by volunteers associated in Voluntary Fire Service (Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna, OSP) with more than 15 700 fire stations in nearly every bigger settlement.

Structure

National Headquarters of the State Fire Service (Warsaw)
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Białystok
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Gdańsk
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Gorzów Wielkopolski
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Katowice
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Kielce
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Kraków
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Lublin
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Łódź
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Olsztyn
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Opole
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Poznań
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Rzeszów
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Szczecin
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Toruń
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Warszawa
- Voivodeship Headquarters in Wrocław

Each Voivodeship Headquarters supervises District Headquarters (335 in 2019) and fire-fighting units.

The State Fire Service operates 5 fire academies:

Main School of Fire Service
Central School of State Fire Service in Częstochowa
School of Aspirants of the State Fire Service in Kraków
School of Aspirants of the State Fire Service in Poznań
Non-commissioned Officers School of the State Fire Service in Bydgoszcz

Voluntary Fire Service

In Poland local inhabitants may create a Voluntary Fire Department (Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna, OSP) under proper law. Such departments may receive financial assistance from the government for purchasing equipment or training the staff. In certain areas of Poland almost every town and village has a volunteer fire department. Volunteer fire departments are usually fully integrated into the state emergency system (Krajowy System Ratowniczo-Gaśniczy, KSRG). Any call to the fire emergency number is routed to the nearest State Fire Service (PSP) station in powiat (Komenda Powiatowa PSP) that coordinates the forces in the area. After the alarm, the volunteers arrive to the fire station and then respond to the emergency.

Ranks and rank insignia

I corps - enlisted rank

Strażak Firefighter Private E1	Starszy strażak Senior firefighter Private E2

II corps - non-commissioned officers

Sekcyjny Squad Leader Private First Class	Starszy sekcyjny Senior Squad Leader Specialist	Młodszy ogniomistrz Junior Firemaster Corporal	Ogniomistrz Firemaster Staff-Sergeant	Starszy ogniomistrz Senior Firemaster Sergeant 1st Class

III corps - aspirants

Młodszy aspirant Junior Aspirant Sergeant 1st Class	Aspirant Aspirant Master Sergeant	Starszy aspirant Senior Aspirant Sergeant-Major	Aspirant sztabowy Staff Aspirant Command Sergeant Major