On Monday, the Croatian Firefighting Association (HVZ) commemorated the approximately 300 firefighters who were killed in the 1991-95 Homeland War, as well as all other firefighters who were responsible for the alarm system, transported water and food for the defenders and represented the third pillar of national defence.

In a statement on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Homeland War and the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Vukovar and Skabrnja, the HVZ recalled that during the war in the early 1990s, 20 firefighters were killed in firefighting operations related to the war, while 279 were killed as members of the Croatian army and police or as civilians.

During the war, 192 fire stations, 147 warehouses and 228 fireretrucks were damaged or destroyed.

“The firefighters of Vukovar stand out with their courage and sacrifice… in the history of the Croatian fire brigade. They transported water for the city’s hospital and shelters and extinguished fires as long as they could,” the HVZ said, recalling that 1050 firefighters were honoured with commemorative medals for their role in the Homeland War.