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Czech fire sport (Czech: Požární sport) is a distinctively Czech sport. Every Czech municipality has to establish a volunteer fire department in accordance with Regulation § 29 zákona č. 133/1985 Sb. Consequently, a special subculture of volunteer firemen developed, and later competitions in firemen's skills were created. The sport is widespread and popular, especially in the countryside.
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History
The tradition of Czech fire sport was begun in 1967, inspired by the Soviet fire-fighting sport. Although Soviet culture was not widely accepted among the Czech population, because the country had been occupied by the Red Army, the fire-fighting sport won popularity, and is practiced to this day. It has evolved, however, into a distinctly Czech form.
100-meter obstacle course (100 m překážek)
A race for individuals. Obstacles are specially designed to simulate firefighting reality.
National record: Pavel Krpec, 15,15 seconds
400-meter obstacle relay (4x100m překážek)
A race for a four-member team. Obstacles are specially designed to simulate firefighting reality.
National record: Libor Mrozowski, Pavel Krpec, Pavel Maňas, Ondřej Kubala, 54,46 seconds
Tower-climbing
A fire-sport tower and a ladder with hooks are needed. The goal is to reach the fourth floor by hooking the window frames of the tower. The most challenging event.
National record: Bc Jakub Pěkný, (time unknown)
Attacking a fire (požární útok)
The most popular event, with the highest number of competing teams. Each team has seven members.
The event requires a pool (káď), water pump (stroj or mašina), hard suction hose (savice), fire hose splitter (rozdělovač or rozbočovač), smooth bore nozzle (proudnice), and two types of hoses. The first type is The B-Hose (hadice B), with a nominal inner diameter of 65 mm to 75 mm. The second is the C-Hose (hadice C), with a nominal inner diameter of 38 mm to 52 mm.
The goal is to hit a small target with the water stream. The target is connected by wire to a chronometer.
National record: Roman Vejvoda, Luboš Vlčan, Libor Šťastný, Ladislav Pop, Vladimír Janko, Lukáš Hons, Jan Fabík, 21,08 sec.
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Culture aspects
Despite a wide popularity, Czech fire sport in general is not reflected in any artwork. Conventional media usually don’t cover fire sport events except national race. However, participants of fire sport publish fanzines and even create reportages in a special TV broadcast via the Internet.