Vorarlberg, Austria's westernmost state (pop. 412,356 on January 1, 2026), is protected entirely by volunteers: 143 fire brigades in 2025, 120 of them municipal volunteer brigades and 23 company brigades, with 9,410 members. They are organized in four fire districts (Bludenz, Bregenz, Dornbirn and Feldkirch) under the Vorarlberg Fire Brigade Association in Feldkirch, which also runs the state fire training center. There is no professional fire brigade. In 2025 the brigades answered 5,511 call-outs. The joint rescue and fire control center in Feldkirch dispatches every brigade. In an emergency, dial 122 (fire) or 112.
Vorarlberg Fire Brigade Association office (non-emergency)
+43 5522 3510-0- Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg, Florianistraße 1, 6800 Feldkirch, Austria
- Office: Mon–Fri 8:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00 (CET); closed Friday afternoons in July and August
- lfv-vorarlberg.at (state association)
- Fire training center (secretariat, mornings): +43 5522 3510-218
- Rescue and fire control center (landline): +43 5522 201 · Florianistraße 1a, 6800 Feldkirch
- Emergency: fire 122 · ambulance 144 · EU emergency number 112
How Fire Protection Is Organized in Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg has no professional fire brigade (Berufsfeuerwehr); Austria's six are in Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt. Fire protection rests on 120 municipal volunteer brigades (Ortsfeuerwehren) and 23 company brigades (Betriebsfeuerwehren) at industrial plants, power stations, the railway and hospitals, for example Julius Blum, Zumtobel Group, Illwerke VKW and ÖBB Infrastruktur.
All brigades belong to the Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg (LFV, state fire brigade association) in Feldkirch, founded in 1875 and led by the state fire inspector. Each of the four political districts has a district fire inspector (Bezirksfeuerwehrinspektor) who sits on the association's board, and brigades work together in sections within each district. Emergency calls are handled by the Rettungs- und Feuerwehrleitstelle (RFL, rescue and fire control center), the joint dispatch center for all fire brigades and rescue services, staffed around the clock next to the LFV building in Feldkirch. The LFV's Feuerwehrausbildungszentrum (FAZ, fire training center) ran 216 courses with 3,845 participants in 2025.
Fire Brigades by District
| District | District fire command | Brigades | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bludenz | District fire inspector Bludenz | 47 (incl. 7 company) | LFV brigade index |
| Bregenz | District fire inspector Bregenz | 54 (incl. 6 company) | LFV brigade index |
| Dornbirn | District fire inspector Dornbirn | 6 (incl. 3 company) | LFV brigade index |
| Feldkirch | District fire inspector Feldkirch | 36 (incl. 7 company) | LFV brigade index |
| Vorarlberg | State association | 143 (incl. 23 company) | lfv-vorarlberg.at |
Counts follow the LFV annual report 2025 and match the federal association's 143. Dornbirn District has only three municipal brigades (Dornbirn, Hohenems, Lustenau). The LFV online brigade index lists 145 entries.
Special Units & Capabilities
- Forest fires: ground-based vegetation-fire bases in Bings-Stallehr and Bürs (south) and, since 2025, Bezau (north), giving statewide coverage. Flight helpers in Hohenems and Egg work with helicopters; large water tankers are based in Altach, Rankweil, Hörbranz and Nüziders.
- Rail tunnels: the Klostertal brigades cover the tunnels of the Arlberg railway line. In autumn 2025, 24 firefighters trained at the International Fire Academy in Balsthal, Switzerland, for the new ÖBB tunnel rescue train due in 2026. Feldkirch-Stadt received a rescue engine with tunnel equipment for the future city tunnel.
- Floods and disasters: flood bases were completed in 2025; Vandans holds a telehandler and sludge pumps (up to 8,000 L/min) for the Montafon and the whole state.
- Lake Constance: Vorarlberg brigades take part in the international oil and pollution control on the lake with Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein (a commanders' exercise in Hard and a staff exercise with the Friedrichshafen fire brigade in 2025).
- Heavy rescue and aerials: 13 aerial ladders or platforms statewide; new heavy rescue vehicles in Lustenau and Schruns (2025).
- Forest-fire bases
- Flight helpers
- Rail tunnels
- Flood bases
- Lake Constance oil control
- Heavy rescue
- Aerial ladders (13)
Estimated Response Time
Statewide, 120 municipal volunteer brigades share 2,602 km², so the average distance to the nearest brigade is r ≈ √(2,602 ÷ (120 × π)) ≈ 2.6 km (1.6 mi). Much of the state is mountains, forest and alpine pasture: only about 22% is permanent settlement area, and within that area r drops to about 1.2 km (0.8 mi). Vorarlberg averages about 158 residents per km², with dense towns in the Rhine Valley and Walgau, but volunteers must first reach the station, so we use the volunteer column of our baseline table.
| Radius | Vorarlberg (volunteer) |
|---|---|
| ≤ 2.4 km | 8–12 min |
| 2.4–4.8 km | 10–14 min |
| 4.8–9.7 km | 12–18 min |
| > 9.7 km | 18+ min |
Typical expectation: about 8–12 minutes in towns and villages, about 10–14 minutes for outlying hamlets, and longer for alpine huts, ski areas and forest slopes without road access.
Estimated Fire Control Time
| Fire size | Example | Indicative time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Grass patch, dumpster, small vehicle | 5–20 min |
| Medium | Room-and-contents, car fully involved | 15–45 min |
| Large | Whole house, commercial unit | 45–120 min |
| Major | Multi-alarm, industrial, tunnel or mountain forest fire | 2–12+ hours |
Steep forest is Vorarlberg's typical major-fire challenge. On March 21, 2025, a forest fire at Breitenberg near Hohenems threatened to spread fast in drought and strong föhn wind; firefighters worked roped up with the mountain rescue service, and eight brigades with 23 vehicles responded. The next day a vegetation fire on the Kobelalpe in Dornbirn needed an Interior Ministry helicopter; about 150 responders were deployed at each fire. Expect times toward the upper end of each range in such terrain.
Call-outs & Statistics
- 2025: 5,511 call-outs (about 15 a day): 2,209 fire call-outs and 3,302 technical call-outs, with 93,520 hours on call-outs.
- 2025: 9,410 members: 6,748 active, 1,140 youth in 99 youth groups, 940 honorary and 582 passive members.
- 2025: 620 vehicles, including 159 tank fire engines and 13 aerials; 1,393 breathing apparatus sets.
- The LFV figures come from the brigades' syBOS records; the association notes that missing entries affect the statistics. Austria-wide in 2025: 4,752 brigades, 357,187 members and 254,598 call-outs.
Outdoor burning and forest fires: The federal Clean Air Act (Bundesluftreinhaltegesetz) bans burning materials in the open outside approved installations. Campfires and barbecues are exempt; other exceptions for plant material, including traditional bonfires, are allowed only by a state governor's ordinance or a district permit with safety conditions. In dry periods the district authority can issue a forest-fire ordinance (Waldbrandverordnung) banning any fire and smoking in and near forests. Ask your Gemeinde before burning anything.
Neighboring States & Countries
- Tyrol
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
FAQ
What is the non-emergency number for the fire service in Vorarlberg?
The Vorarlberg Fire Brigade Association office in Feldkirch: +43 5522 3510-0 (Mon–Fri 8:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00). In an emergency, dial 122 or 112.
How many fire brigades are in Vorarlberg?
143 in 2025: 120 municipal volunteer and 23 company brigades in four fire districts. Bregenz District has the most (54).
Does Vorarlberg have a professional fire brigade?
No. All public brigades are volunteer, with 9,410 members (6,748 active) in 2025.
How fast does the fire brigade respond in Vorarlberg?
About 8–12 minutes in towns and villages, including volunteer turnout, and about 10–14 minutes for outlying areas; remote alpine sites take longer.
Can I burn garden waste in Vorarlberg?
Generally no. Federal law bans open burning outside approved installations, with narrow exceptions such as campfires. Ask your municipality first.
Last verified:
- Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg: contact, home page (office hours, FAZ secretariat)
- Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg — Annual report 2025 (statewide and district figures, special units, call-out reports)
- Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg — Brigade index
- Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg — Rescue and fire control center (RFL)
- Österreichischer Bundesfeuerwehrverband — Statistics 2025
- Statistik Austria — Population Jan 1, 2026 (preliminary)
- WKÖ Statistik — Area and land use by state, Jan 1, 2025 (BEV / Statistik Austria data; area, permanent settlement area)
- Vorarlberg Fire Police Act (Feuerpolizeiordnung), § 45 — association board
- Bundesluftreinhaltegesetz, § 3 — open burning