Commitment to society, pleasure in sports, cultural restlessness and the desire to have fun are the characteristics of the Fire Brigade that, in the mid-40s, created the group known as “La Cultural”, still existing, with 9 sports sections.
During the 50s, actress Mary Santpere became the driving force behind the Summer Festivals, the Christmas Campaign and the various charity events organized by the Barcelona Fire Brigade. Because of her dedication, Mary Santpere was appointed honorary firefighter, upon the proposal of the Commander .
Volleyball has been the most popular sport in the history of the Barcelona Fire Brigade. In 1950, a volleyball court was painted in the Central Fire station and the Firefighters Team played in the Catalonia Volleyball Championship together with other teams such as Hispano-Francès, El Picadero and El Sitjar. The first successes came on the next year when the firefighters won the Catalan championship against their main rival, Hispano-Francès, and a few months later when they won Real Madrid in the first Spanish Championship.
The Barcelona Fire Brigade has a good relationship with the Three Wise Man coming from the East. For more than thirty years, firefighters have accompanied them to different hospitals in the city.
Gymnastics, a traditionally exercise for firefighters, took a striking relevance during 1950’s when the firefighters shared public exhibitions with the great gymnast Joaquim Blume who had reached an agreement to train the firefighters. Unfortunately, he finally could not do so because he died prematurely in an aviation accident.
The first issue of the Magazine Alarma! (Alarm!) was published in September 1949 with the intention of being a bulletin that echoed the different activities of the ACE- Cultural and Sports Association, and also the latest news, improvements, techniques and innovations relating to the service.
On August 1, 1945, 31 new young firefighters were admitted in the service causing a great change in the internal activities of the Barcelona firefighters. A group of this firefighters promotion founded on October 1 the Penya Borinot, focused on the organization of the library and the organisation of sports championships such as the Basque pelota, chess and domino.
In August 1946 they organized a party in the courtyard of the Central Fire Station to celebrate the first anniversary of their access to the service. The good reception of the party encouraged them to create the Cultural and Sports Group of Fire Brigade that would be known as La Cultural.
