"Varaždin - the top of the firefighting world": Retrospective exhibition of the CTIF Competitions held in Croatia 2005
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The events in 2005 of the 13th International Firefighters Competition and the 15th International Young Firefighters Competition were an important event for CTIF Croatia. In 2025, 20 years later, an exhibition on the CTIF Competitions was created, which can be seen this spring at the Croatian Fire Fighting Museum .
TheCTIF Competitions in Croatia 20 years ago, July 17-24, 2005 , were held in the Croatian city of Varaždin , . They were highly rated for the quality of preparation and performance and raised the bar very high for all future organizers, according to a text about the event written by Željko Cebin.
(See below for the full unedited text, along with a photo gallery of the event).
Varaždin - the top of the firefighting world - revisited in the form of an exhibition 20 years later.
The 2005 CTIF competitions were one of the most important events in the history of firefighting in Croatia. The history of this exceptional event is presented through exhibition posters, diplomas, medals, cups and memorabilia. The exhibition is dedicated to the firemen and firewomen who, by their actions, helped to successfully hold the international competition and thereby forever wrote the Croatian town of Varaždin in the world history books of firefighting.
On January 31, 2025, an opening night was held at the museum, organized by the Croatian Museum Society.
It was visited by 650 people among the public and program participants. The central theme was a lecture on the 13th international firefighters' competition and the 15th international young firefighters' competition and the opening of the exhibition called "Varaždin - the top of the firefighting world, July 17 - 24, 2005".
The opening greetings were given by Fire Chief Commander Slavko Tucaković and the head of the Croatian Firefighters Museum, Vedran Runjić .
At the conference on the pair, Stjepan Kovaček, deputy project manager for the organization of the competition, said:
"In the parts of the competition that took place in the Varaždin city park, Croatian teams were among the best, and I am particularly happy about that, because there was a lot of laughter and joy, and many of our people and fans watched this event,"
Mario Starčević, deputy project manager for the organization of the competition, told how the decision for Croatia to host was made quickly, without much time to decide:
"The arrangements for Croatia to host the competition were very short and we didn't even know which city would be the host, but CTIF accepted our proposal and we managed to organize an event that was a great success," he said.
On the same evening, the exhibition "Varaždin - the top of the firefighting world, July 17-24, 2005" was opened, dedicated to those memorable days when Croatia was at the center of CTIF activities.
The Mayor of Varaždin , Neven Bosilj, congratulated the Museum on the opening of the exhibition and announced the construction of a new fire station that will house the Varaždin Public Fire Brigade, which will be able to cede its current space to the Croatian Fire Fighting Museum.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Fire Brigade presented certificates of appreciation to the participants of the exhibition and to Zvonko Glažar, Commander of the Fire Brigade Association of Slovenia.
"Varaždin, cradle of firefighting in Croatia".
"In memory of the 20th anniversary of the competition, in memory of all my friends, I present certificates of appreciation to those who helped with the work of the museum and to my friends from the Firefighters' Association of Slovenia, and I thank the city of Varaždin, the cradle of Croatian firefighting," said the commander-in-chief and opened the exhibition.
Book for the 10th anniversary of the Museum
As part of the event, the first book on the activities of the Museum was presented. At the presentation of the book "Croatian Fire Fighting Museum 2014 - 2024", Miroslav Klemm, author of the exhibition and long-time collaborator of the Croatian Fire Fighting Museum, said:
"This book is a proof for future times of all the effort that was put into making the Fire Fighting Museum what it is today and that every Volunteer Firefighter Society should have this book in their library.
"In the construction and development of the Croatian Fire Fighting Museum invested enormous effort Zvonko Biškup, Mirko Svetec, Đuro Čovran, Vedran Runjić and many others, but we do not stop there because we are thinking of expanding the museum to the outdoor area where we have a lot to show in the form of museum examples of fire vehicles that we have preserved," said Fire Chief Commander Slavko Tucaković.
Exhibition open every day this spring
The exhibition can be visited every weekday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and at other times by appointment. The exhibition will remain at the Museum until mid-June, when this important event is scheduled to take place.
Based on a text by Željko Cebin, HVZ
