The CTIF Delegates Assembly was held in Brdo, Slovenia, on 21 September 2006.

Brdo is close to Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital city. 
CTIF president Walter Egger, Mr Ernest Eöry, chairman of the Slovenian CTIF National Committee, and Mr Branko Devodel, representing the Slovenian Ministry of Defence in charge of the Slovenia fire service, opened the conference.One hundred and twenty delegates from 26 different nations attended this annual meeting where the main strategic decisions regarding the future of the CTIF are taken. At the closing banquet all Delegates were received by Mr. Karl Erjavec, the Slovenian Minister of Defence, who stated that it was his great honour to welcome fire fighting representatives from around the world and to host the working session of the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services.

Overview of the main issues discussed at the Delegates Assembly, the international gathering of world fire and rescue representatives.

Increased membershipThe Delegates voted unanimously in favour of welcoming 10 new members in the ranks of CTIF:* 2 new countries as ordinary members:- Angola

 New Zealand
* 8 new companies and organisations as associate members: - Crash Rescue Equipment Service Inc. (USA)

  Kidde Fire Trainers GmbH (Germany) 

 LMS France World Water Treatment (France)

  PBI Performance Products Inc. (Germany)

  Industrielektronik Pölz GmbH (Austria)

  Swissphone Telecom AG (Switzerland)

  Werbeagentur A. Prantl (Germany)

  Verlag 112 / in Fire (Germany)

Over the past two years, the number of CTIF member countries has increased from 37 to 50 and the number of CTIF associate members from 15 to 35, indicating an ever-growing interest in the activities of this more than 100-year-old organisation. The CTIF was founded in Paris in 1900 to encourage and promote co-operation among fire fighters and other experts in fire and rescue throughout the world.

Intensified co-operation and presence worldwideFollowing the decisions acted upon by the CTIF delegates at their conference 2005, many projects were carried out successfully this year.The co-operation with organisations such as FEU (Federation of EU Fire Officers), the European Fire Academy and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs was intensified to exchange experience and information in the fields of fire protection, disaster relief and rescue.CTIF was also invited to speak at several conferences worldwide, for example in Sofia (Bulgaria), in Bursa (Turkey), in Shannon (Ireland), in Zahlé (Libanon) and Stockholm (Sweden). Further, the CTIF strived to develop closer links with the European Union by attending several meetings in Brussels and insisting on the need for one single contact organisation to speak in the name of the European fire and rescue services.The setting up of the CTIF permanent office in January 2006 as a central contact point and platform for CTIF issues contributed to the completion of each of these projects.

The Delegates encouraged the CTIF leadership to continue developing contacts with organisations such as the United Nations, the North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Red Cross, to give but a few examples.

Networking is the keywordThe Delegates all agreed that it is critically important that CTIF continues expanding its network.CTIF will again organise conferences on topics of current interest, such as terrorism and fire fighters, safety for children, tunnel and boat safety, etc., by inviting prominent and expert speakers on these subjects.
With the arrival of seven new member countries from Central America in 2005 (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, El Salvador), the question of regionalising CTIF was also raised to improve work efficiency by reducing travel times. CTIF Europe for example would be the single fire and rescue contact point for the European Union in Brussels. CTIF America would then include the seven Central American countries as well as North America. The CTIF Executive Committee will look into this issue at its next meetings.

New publicationsExpert publications and technical studies were also among the activities developed by CTIF over the past months.
*Fire fighter safety programmes in CTIF nations - results from a study led by CTIF vice-president Russ Sanders. *CTIF 11th annual World Fire Statistics report, compiled by CTIF statistics experts in Germany, Russia and the USA. *First Response Manual for Radioactive Emergencies, published by the International Atomic Energy Agency in close collaboration with the members of the CTIF Commission Hazardous Materials. *A history of fire fighting in private companies, prepared by the CTIF Commission History and Museums and the CTIF Working Group on the History of the Fire and Rescue Services. *50 years of fire brigades competitions within CTIF, written by Wilhelm Bohlmann, honorary member of CTIF and former chairman of the CTIF Commission International Fire Brigades Competitions.

Pictures: CTIF Slovenian National Committee