With the beginning of the collection, at first merely the preservation of contemporary witnesses of the fire department history stood for me in the foreground.

I would like to leave the appearance of emblems of past time so without comment exactly as the suitability of various new helmets in the everyday use life.

Without the aim and the plan to build up the collection "completely" it was successful to arrange a quite representative collection for me in the course of the time anyway.

My collection doesn't lay any claim to completeness.

The explanations for the collecting pieces bases essentially on statements of contemporary witnesses, Technical literature or the information given of full particulars partly very much of collector colleagues.

It wasn't important for me to note down technical refinements or pure quotations of appropriate DIN or EN norms. At first the descriptions were imaginary to this, without photos describing the helmets, her outer phenotype is also therefore often described very in detail. The numbering of the different collecting pieces was carried out according to the order of her acquisition till now and therefore seem rather arbitrary in the overview panel in the area of the countries.

I would like to describe successions the beginning and the construction of the collection briefly now.

I have my collection 1995 started, when I purchased my first fire department helmet on a Freiburg flea market.

At that time, I wasn't a member of a voluntary fire department yet for a long time and therefore I was interested in all things that had to work with the fire department.

So my first helmet was the M43 in black with the stamps of the German company Ziegler.

After the interest was aroused after the helmets of the past now, so I advertised in the advertising journal of the local newspaper and had success more or less. I received many calls and paid a visit to the people who got in touch with me. Of course I have made her easier around her helmets every time. My knowledge about the helmets enlarged himself after and after I collected this one.

I got much support from collectors who very well knew about the area of Militaria. So I got not only an even better knowledge about the topic but also various material, description already fitting with this one at once.

So it then managed, too, that I noted down from the beginning what I knew over my helmets. In the course of the time the descriptions then got still more extensive and sounder.

A very big help was also the appropriate technical literature like the books of Bolko Hartmann or Thomas W. Herminghaus.

By the partnership of our fire department to Croatian fire departments, it finally came to that, that I have got my first "exchange helmet". The interest therefore started with the aluminum helmet "Viennese form" for the foreign models at the beginning of 1999. Perhaps it was also a reason, that I already had a little open collection of German helmets at this time.

I found no more place after and after for the accumulated helmets and I designed a shelf at the end of 1999 so I could store the the helmets properly on.

I then succeeded mean till now the best catch on 6-28-2000, when I could get aspot hood of the German empire, Free state of Baden. I had at this helmet, how so often spare before and also afterward, simply not let up and the original owners partly talked into leaving the collecting piece to me over several years.

EiA further highlight in the year 2000 was the acquisition of an, at that time quite new helmet, from CGF Gallet Typ: F1A PA 45 or as it was called in Germany: Dräger Supra S.

After and after I got aware of collectors, the partly enormous collections and the corresponding specialized knowledge could produce.

In the year 2001 I supplemented the collection with an further highlight. The Rosenbauer, Heros II from Austria.

At the beginning of the year 2002 I got the Schubert type: F200

and at the end of 2002 the Römer- Bullard Typ.: "Römer Galaxy"

Until the beginning of the year 2004 there are almost 170 different helmets come together now from of yesterday and morning, from Germany and half the world and I thought, it is on the time, introducing my collection and the necessary descriptions to a wider audience.

What would have been obvious as the design of a suitable web site?

With the beginning of the year 2005 I have found two German helmet manufacturers, having this one supported my web site in the form of duration loans.

With these helmets, I would like to give a representative summary in future about the many various helmets, they are in use in Germany and all over the world.

To this I have introduced these first two manufacturers and your helmets in the navigation point manufacturer.

My special gratitude is for the companies MSA Auer and Roemer Bullard in this place once again.

Until March 2006 almost 260 fire department helmets have come together now an I can open the site again also in English language.

I would want now, that the other German helmet manufacturers also support my web site and enrich the manufacturer area with their helmets. I am sure that the new helmets generation finds a very big interest in the world.

Fundamental to my collection:

Not all helmets have been described by me in detail, I was often missing more details on the individual pieces.

The questions which I have, I would like to pass on to you and ask you:

Inform me, if you have answers for my questions or remarks to my texts.

In this case I am very grateful about your help.

Should you have alone secondary interest to this topic, so I would like to recommend you the Websites which I have listed in the link area.

The reference books of following authors are very recommendable also:

I still would like to say about the end, that this collection is my hobby and therefore is financed purely privately.

If you should be in the possession of a beautiful old collecting piece or a helmet you don't know about it how and where with that, so you may be sure, that this piece gets its own place in my collection and also gets his own history.

About your support for the expansion of my collection I would be very grateful.

Markus Bruchmann

For the help with the design and realization of this web site I would very cordially say thank you to Daniel Cretu, Riccardo Rinaldi and not least with Andreas Berger, thank-you for your untiring work.