History

Before the NSDAP’s rise to power in 1933, firefighters and their regulations were overseen by the individual German states. Fire services were more or less run by the communities as they saw fit. Larger towns and cities featured professional fire services (Berufsfeuerwehr), while rural areas featured volunteer fire services (Freiwillige Feuerwehr).

Under Third Reich rule, fire services were to be unified on a national level and therefore placed under the control of the German Police. National socialist doctrine was infused and the fire services militarised in preparation for war and the anticipated bombing of German cities.
Between 1933 and 1938, the professional fire service was referred to as “Feuerlöschpolizei” (fire extinguishing police), while between 1938 and 1945, they were referred to as “Feuerschutzpolizei” (fire protection police) as a subdivision of the German Police.
Volunteer firefighters were classified as part of the Hilfspolizei (police auxiliary forces).

Firefighter uniforms had generally been made of dark blue material, predominantly in Prussia. This colour was still used during the 1930s, but then changed in 1939 when members of the professional fire service received a green uniform similar to that of the German Police. The uniform garments featured carmine piping and initially black, later dark brown (as of September 1942) collars, cuffs, and cap bands as identifiers. However, volunteer firefighters kept wearing dark blue uniforms with carmine piping until the end of the war.

Most shoulder boards and straps worn by firefighters feature a carmine underlay as their main identifier, with a few exceptions. Shoulder boards were worn to indicate rank.
The rank pips used were made of metal in the shape of four-sided stars, silver-coloured for ranks up to and including Haupttruppführer, and gold-coloured for higher ranks.
Shoulder boards of professional fire service personnel featured black as their branch colour, which was changed to brown in September of 1942. The branch colour for volunteer firefighters was carmine.

There are two patterns of firefighter shoulder boards. The first one was introduced in 1938, while the second one replaced the first in May of 1943.

The first pattern shoulder boards are as follows:
Abschnittsinspekteure wore shoulder boards with interwoven silver-coloured braids with branch colour chevrons on them, with five bends and a buttonhole loop. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Bezirksführer wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and Kreisführer had no rank pips.
Hauptzugführer wore shoulder boards with two double-laid double silver-coloured cords with branch colour chevrons on them. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Oberzugführer wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and Zugführer had no rank pips.
Haupttruppführer wore shoulder boards with a double-laid double outer silver-coloured cord with branch colour chevrons on it and an inner diagonal braid of one silver-coloured and one branch colour cord. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Obertruppführer wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and Truppführer had no rank pips.
Members in the rank of Haupttruppmann wore shoulder boards with two double laid double cords, the outer one in silver with branch colour chevrons on it, the inner one in branch colour. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Members in the rank of Obertruppmann wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and members in the rank of Truppmann had no rank pips.
Anwärter wore shoulder boards with two double-laid double branch colour cords, the outer one with silver-coloured chevrons on them.

With the change to the second pattern of shoulder boards, all rank pips were now gold-coloured. The underlay remained in carmine, except for the lowest three ranks for which there was no underlay whatsoever.

The second pattern shoulder boards are as follows:
Landesführer wore shoulder boards with interwoven silver-coloured braids, with five bends and a buttonhole loop. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Oberabteilungsführer wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and Abteilungsführer had no rank pips.
Bereitschaftsführer wore shoulder boards with two double-laid double silver-coloured cords. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Oberzugführer wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and Zugführer had no rank pips.
Meister wore shoulder boards with a double-laid double outer silver-coloured cord with branch colour chevrons on it and an inner diagonal braid of one silver-coloured and one branch colour cord.
Hauptwachtmeister wore shoulder boards with two double laid double cords, the outer one in silver with branch colour chevrons on it, the inner one in branch colour. The outer cord closes the shoulder board at the bottom. Additionally, they had two rank pips.
Zugwachtmeister wore the same shoulder board design, but with only one rank pip, and Oberwachtmeister had no rank pips. Wachtmeister had the same design as Oberwachtmeister, but the outer cord doesn’t close the shoulder board at the bottom, but rather leaves it open.
Rottwachtmeister wore shoulder boards with two double laid double cords, the outer one in branch colour with silver-coloured chevrons on it, the inner one in branch colour. Additionally, they wore a horizontal silver-coloured “Tresse” stripe just above the lower end of the shoulder boards.
Unterwachtmeister wore the same shoulder board design, except without the “Tresse” stripe.
Anwärter wore plain shoulder boards in branch colour.