Fire buff

A fire buff is a person with considerable interest (a fan) in fire fighting and emergency services, while not being an active member of these services. Fire buffs may collect or promote information about the local emergency services, raise money for them, or attend emergencies as bystanders. In the latter case, a fire buff may be considered a nuisance or even a danger to operations by active service members, while the buff him- or herself in general takes pride in not hampering any operations, but rather staying out of the way unless requested otherwise. Many fire buffs are organized in associations, a small number of which are integrated into auxiliary services for their local fire stations. The term fire buff itself is said to go back to the beginning of the 20th century, when early fire buffs attended emergencies during winter time wearing fur coats, thus coming to be called "buffalos".

Feuerwehrverein