The Oil Ministry firefighting team is preparing to participate in the World Rescue and Firefighting Championships, which will be held in Baku this November. Hossein Salehi, the head of the Firefighting Department of the Oil Ministry's Health, Safety, and Environment Office, announced that all necessary actions to facilitate this team's participation in the competitions are being pursued.
Previous Experience of the Oil Ministry Firefighting Team
Salehi pointed out that since 2024, the Oil Ministry team has participated in international firefighting competitions as a ministry, adding that their first appearance in that year took place in China. During this period, several firefighters from the Oil Ministry, along with a coach and a representative from the World Federation, were sent to China to compete in various disciplines of these competitions.
Read more: Zoravari reached the semifinals of the US Open earlier than expected
The first Oil Ministry Firefighting Olympiad was held in 2013 with the participation of top individuals from four main companies of the Oil Ministry, hosted by the National Iranian Oil Company in Isfahan. This Olympiad continued in 2015, 2017, and 2019, and after a hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak, the last edition was held in 2025 in Mahmoudabad.
Goals of Holding the Firefighting Olympiad
The head of the Firefighting Department of the Oil Ministry's Health, Safety, and Environment Office stated that the goals of these competitions are to create motivation and increase the sense of participation among firefighters. Salehi continued that holding the Olympiad provides an opportunity to enhance the mental, physical, and spiritual capabilities of firefighters, and the presence of capable firefighters in these competitions motivates other personnel to achieve higher readiness and obtain ranks.
He also noted the closeness of records in different editions of the Olympiad, emphasizing that in some competitions, hundredths of a second determine the rankings, which indicates the level of readiness and high motivation of the participants to achieve ranks.
Competition Disciplines and Their Changes
The head of the Firefighting Department of the Oil Ministry's Health, Safety, and Environment Office explained that in international competitions, disciplines such as water supply, 100-meter run, relay race, and tower climbing are held. Firefighters showcase their speed, strength, and operational abilities in these disciplines.
Salehi added: In the Oil Ministry Olympiad, we have tried to design and localize the disciplines according to the nature of operations in the oil industry. For example, in the water supply operations in the world competitions, pumps may be used, but in the Oil Ministry Olympiad, the use of fire trucks and firefighting equipment has been emphasized.
He mentioned the changes in some disciplines over different editions of the Olympiad, stating: Our goal is not merely to hold a sports competition, but we want to assess abilities that are applicable in real firefighting operations in the oil industry. Therefore, some disciplines have changed over the course of the Olympiad's editions.
The head of the Firefighting Department of the Oil Ministry's Health, Safety, and Environment Office emphasized that whenever it is determined that changing a discipline or adding a new one can better serve the goals of oil industry firefighting, these changes will be considered in the design of the Olympiad.
Read more: Abadan Oil Refinery reached the top of the futsal league table · Technical fault at Abadan refinery is under control
