President Milanović Received a Delegation from Palinovec Volunteer Fire Brigade whose Women’s Team Won First Place at the “Firefighting Olympics”
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović received today a delegation from the Palinovec Volunteer Fire Brigade from Međimurje County, which included members of the Volunteer Fire Brigade Women’s A Team “Kobre” [the Cobras], who won first place at the 18th International CTIF Fire Brigade Competition 2026 held in Austria.
A total of 126 firefighting teams from 17 countries took part in the world’s largest firefighting sports event, often referred to as the “Firefighting Olympics”, held in the Austrian town of Eisenstadt. Nine Croatian firefighting teams participated in the competition, winning four trophies, but the greatest success was achieved by the Palinovec Volunteer Fire Brigade Women’s A Team.
The President of Palinovec Volunteer Fire Brigade, Franjo Jančec, highlighted that their success was no coincidence, as the women from the Brigade have been champions of the Croatian Firefighting Association Cup for four consecutive years and have consistently reached the podium at county competitions since 2017. Winning first place at the international competition is the culmination of years of hard work through preparation, fitness training, and numerous competitions, through which the women firefighters from Palinovec acquired skills essential not only for achieving better results in competitive exercises, but also in their roles as operational firefighters, Jančec said.
President Milanović congratulated the Volunteer Fire Brigade on their success, expressing his appreciation and respect for everything the male and female members of the Brigade do, which is not only participating in competitions, but also providing assistance to the community in which they live and serve.
The Palinovec Volunteer Fire Brigade was founded in 1932 and is one of the largest fire departments in Međimurje County, with a large number of children and young people involved in voluntary firefighting work. The department has 116 active adult and 48 youth members.
The meeting at the Office of the President of the Republic was attended by the members of the “Kobre” Women’s A Team: Maria Murković Srpak, Ema Perković, Nina Klobučarić, Petra Hajdarović, Ana Jančec, Iva Fileš, Katarina Jančec, Viktorija Horvat, Ema Hajdarović, Mija Horvat, and Tihana Srpak Čemerika. In addition to the President of the Palinovec Volunteer Fire Brigade, Franjo Jančec, the meeting was attended by their Honorary President Zlatko Orsag, Vice President Miroslav Oreški, Commander Robert Horvat, and Brigade members Ivan Petar Srpak, Goran Bobetić, Josip Sabol, Tomislav Srpak, Vladimir Srpak, and Darko Sabol, as well as the President of the Firefighters Association of Međimurje County, Mario Medved, and the representatives of the local and regional government: Head of the Office of the County Prefect of Međimurje County Petra Strahija, Mayor of the Municipality of Donji Kraljevec Miljenko Horvat, and President of the Palinovec Local Committee Vladimir Sabol.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta