Amendments to the Law on Fire Protection and Firefighting enable firefighters in the FBiH to receive compensation for passive duty, while their salaries may be increased by up to 30 percent due to the difficulty, nature of the work and responsibility.
The right to compensation for passive duty refers to chiefs of firefighting units, professional firefighters and other authorized persons. The payment will be regulated by the regulations on salaries and benefits of civil servants and state employees, in accordance with the financial capabilities of cantons, cities and municipalities.
Chiefs of firefighting units, their deputies, professional firefighters and inspectors may be granted a salary increase of up to 30 percent, while other officers and employees employed in professional firefighting units may receive an increase of up to 20 percent. This means that the increase will not automatically be the same in all areas, but will depend on local regulations and available money in budgets.
Aldin Brašnjić, the temporarily appointed director of the Federal Administration of Civil Protection, said that the goal of the legal changes is a fairer and systematic regulation of the labor-legal and financial status of firefighters who perform demanding and dangerous tasks every day.
Although the changes improved the rights of firefighters in FBiH, many professional units still face a lack of operational staff. Filling units and rejuvenating employees is slow, which puts additional strain on existing firefighters, especially during the summer fire season.
The problem is also the insufficient number of inspectors for fire protection and firefighting, which makes preventive work and supervision over the implementation of prescribed measures difficult.
The equipment of fire departments varies from one local community to another. While individual units have modern vehicles and protective equipment, financially weaker communities have difficulties in acquiring and maintaining the necessary resources.
The Federal Administration of Civil Protection announced the continuation of cooperation with the Federal Ministry of the Interior on the reform of regulations, improvement of inspection supervision, and provision of funds for training and equipping protection and rescue services.
Amendments to the Law were adopted in 2025 in both houses of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after harmonizing the provisions governing passive duty and salary supplements for employees in professional firefighting units, writes RTV Slon.
