Civil Protection in Austria

Rescue Organizations

The emergency and rescue organizations form the backbone of Austrian Civil Protection. The authorities are supported by numerous voluntary organizations that are involved in civil protection at the provincial level. In the event of a disaster, they act as emergency relief services under the command and control of the respective authorities.
The principle of voluntariness is one of the basic pillars of Austrian civil protection. It is one of the strengths of the civil protection system and influences its organizational structure. Due to the high percentage of volunteers, it is possible to maintain one of the world’s densest networks of emergency and rescue organizations. Accordingly, Austria has more than 4,800 fire brigades and more than 900 rescue stations. In total there are approximately 250,000 persons active in the fire brigades and over 40,000 paramedics.

See below:

• Austrian Federal Fire Brigade Association  
• Austrian Red Cross  
• Austrian Mountain Rescue Service  
• Worker's Samaritan Federation Austria  
• Die Johanniter (the Order of St. John)  
• The Order of Malta Ambulance Corps of Austria  
• The Austrian Water Rescue Service