Qatar joined the world in celebrating the International Civil Defence Day yesterday, which falls on March 1 of every year. For the general public, this day is an opportunity to express their appreciation to and gratitude for the 24-hour service extended by the Civil Defence Department throughout the year. Their presence and work often go unnoticed although they are always alert and ready to meet and mitigate any emergency situation arising from all types of disasters whether they are man made or natural.
On this occasion, Director General of the General Directorate of Vicl Defence Brigadier General Hamad Othman Al Dehaimi said that the Directorate seeks to reach the highest meaning of this year’s slogan ‘Human Safety is Building Development” by exerting more efforts in order to preserve lives and property through its mechanisms and human, technical and material capabilities, so that these efforts will reflect positively on both families and individuals and contribute to the upbringing of future generations capable of bearing sufficient awareness of all risks and aware of how to avoid, prevent and deal with them if they occur.
As it is very rare the occurrence of natural disasters such as flood, mudslides etc in Qatar, people here may not be fully aware of the task that the civil defence perform, the diversity of skills and they should possess and the risk they face in their line of duty. The personnel in Qatar’s civil defence have undergone very rigorous training to make them capable of meeting any kind of situation whether it is a fire or any other emergency. The department, under the Ministry of Interior, is also tasked with ensuring the safety of every structure in the country through conducting fitness inspections and giving clearance before the use of the different buildings and facilties such as houses, commercial buildings markets, stadiums, hospitals etc.
If we are not disturbed with the blaring sirens of civil defence vehicles like fire trucks, we should be thankful to the department, because it is just because of their diligence and vigil that we live a peaceful life. At the same time we should be aware that we cannot leave the responsibility of ensuring a disaster-free, peaceful daily life to them alone as it is a personal duty of every one to play their part in making their own life safe from any accident. Qatar’s stringent regulations and constant monitoring by the authorities play a key role in guaranteeing us a peaceful day every day.
