The International Fire Academy is regarded as Europe's leading centre of excellence for the management of (fire) incidents in tunnels and has developed and published an internationally recognized Tunnel Firefighting Procedure in cooperation with fire services from Switzerland and Europe.

International training partners

The International Fire Academy is a training partner of the Federal Office of Roads, all Swiss railway infrastructure companies, the Baden-Württemberg State Fire Authority and numerous fire service schools in several European countries.

Operational training in four languages

Every year, several thousand firefighters are trained realistically in the Tactics Centre and in the training tunnels in Balsthal (SO) and Lungern (OW) for deployment in railway and road tunnels as well as in other underground transport systems.

Development and organizational counselling

In addition to training emergency personnel, the International Fire Academy specialises in tactical, technical and teaching development. She advises fire services systemically and organizationally regarding the individual preparation for intervention in their tunnels.

The Intercantonal Fire Service Training Centre provides the fire service authorities of the cantons of Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt and Jura as well as the Fire Service Coordination Switzerland and the Swiss Fire Service Association with a comprehensive training infrastructure for their courses.

Largest training centre in Switzerland

The 36 000 m2 training area with firehouses, flashover training facility, respiratory protection training parkour, extinguisher training area, classrooms, accommodation, canteen and much more offers the members of the fire services optimal training and exercising conditions.

Infrastructure and services

The Intercantonal Fire Service Training Centre provides its infrastructure together with a wide range of services (training counselling, course administration, technical support), resources (vehicles, materials) and accommodation (meals, accommodation).

Versatile use

The versatile training ground is ideal not only for the training of members of the fire service, police, medical service or civil defence, but also for public organizations, companies, clubs and private individuals.

Facts & Figures

15 years

International Fire Academy

10 000

participants/year

70

instructors

300 m

long training tunnel

30 countries

send participants

36 000 m2

training area

Our values

The prerequisite for the success of knowledge-oriented companies, including in particular learning service providers, is the motivated employee and his interaction with inspiring customers and participants. The way a company behaves towards its claimants shows the importance it attaches to its values and how it consciously deals with those values.

We are proud of our values and our corporate culture. That's why we want to share our values with you. Here they are.

  • We focus on the human being.

    We train members of emergency services so that they can save the lives of humans and animals and preserve their environment and values by effectively carrying out their tasks. We create the necessary framework conditions for our employees to be motivated, committed and successful.


  • We are part of the firefighting world.

    We see ourselves as part of the national and international firefighting community, share their values and ethical principles and promote their reputation.


  • We are a partner of all emergency services.

    In order to set standards in intervention training, we open ourselves to all emergency services and offer appropriate training.


  • We maintain an international network.

    We seek cooperation with emergency services nationally and internationally and attach great importance to the international exchange of experience.


  • We are an organization that teaches and learns.

    Thanks to close cooperation with emergency services, we gain new insights and continuously improve our certified training and service offerings. We constantly monitor our didactic methods, procedures and technology and adapt them in advance to rapid social, economic and technological change. We check the effectiveness of our training through systematic feedback from real life and incorporate these findings into the training.


  • We develop holistic training.

    We offer comprehensive theoretical and practical training in tactics and techniques for different functional and management levels. The development of the training content takes into account the experiences and needs of the emergency services. We carry out experiments for the plausibility (testing of practicality and reliability) of operational principles and tactical as well as technical solutions.


  • We create great benefits for all involved.

    In order to be recognized as one of the leading educational institutions, we offer comprehensive and valuable training with recognizable high benefits for the participants, for emergency services as well as for society. The training content must be reliable in practice and lead to a higher level of safety in operations. We make sure that the training content is widely accepted. Participants should also be able to benefit from the training for their personal or professional development.


  • We optimize the training effort.

    We ensure that the participants achieve the set training goals with the shortest possible time.


  • We take care of the environment.

    The environment is taken into account by a sustainable, resource-efficient operation, so that this is no longer affected than is necessary according to the current state of the art to achieve the goals.


  • We put safety as our top priority.

    Security is an integral part of all activities.


Organization chart

Get to know us


We are two learning service institutions committed to sustainable, cost-effective and quality education and training. We would like to introduce you to our employees and development partners who make this possible. And who knows: maybe you will soon be part of our team?

Staff


Learn more about our internal organization and get to know our motivated team. You can also find your individual contacts.

Jobs


Firefighting works exclusively in the collective. Discover more about our team spirit and which team players we are currently looking for.