ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Monday, March 3rd 2014 [ME NewsWire]
Under the auspices of Lt. General H.H Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, inaugurated the 4th Annual Fire Safety Technology Forum on Monday. The event was held at the YAS Viceroy Hotel in Abu Dhabi, as part the World Civil Defense Day’s celebrations.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of H.H Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Major General Khalifa Hareb Al Khaili, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Interior for Resources and Support Services; Major General Staff Dr. Obeid Al Hiri Salim Al Kutbi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police; Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Acting Commander-in-chief of Civil Defense; and Mohammed Khalfan Matar Al Rumaithi, Director General of the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA); along with a number of leaders and directors general of civil defense in the country, civil defense senior officers and guests from inside and outside the State.
Lt. General Al Sha’far and the attendees watched a documentary film featuring a compilation of speeches by civil defense leaders from around the world, on the occasion of the World Civil Defense Day. They expressed their appreciation for the achievements of the Civil Defense Authority across the country, praising its advanced and professional level, and the civil defense officers’ performance.
In his speech at the inauguration ceremony, Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi stressed that the Ministry of Interior and the Directorate general of Civil Defense endeavor as per their strategic objective, to protect lives, property and the environment, through various awareness-raising scientific activities and field assignments. “They also strive to give peace of mind to all members of society, and strengthen their confidence in civil defense services. These goals are aligned just like every year, with the World Civil Defense day theme, celebrated this year under the slogan ‘Civil Defense and Culture of Prevention for a safer Society’,” he said
Major General Al Matroushi added: “This year’s celebration is marked by the myriad of distinguished legislative, technical, organizational, procedural and operational achievements made by the civil defense in the State. These achievements include implementing the 24x7 Smart Surveillance System in all buildings and facilities; implementing the Unified Emirates Code across all emirates; as well as the standard operating emergency procedures guidebook, pertaining to the professional procedures to manage incidents and crises. This has contributed to achieving the shortest response time in comparison to other countries in the region, and reducing the number and size of fire incidents per 100,000 people to the lowest levels compared with developed countries”.
“The UAE Civil Defense is forging ahead tirelessly as per the Ministry of Interior’s development strategy, to transform the main civil defense operations (serve, prevent, and fight) into an integrated package of smart services by 2021. It also strives to raise community awareness, implement the prevention and safety requirements in all buildings and facilities, as well as professional accident control and good management of crises and disasters,” noted Major General Al Matroushi.
“The UAE has acquired membership of the International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO)’s Executive Council in mid December 2012. This reflects the appreciation of ICDO members for the UAE's role as an active member in the organization since its establishment in 1972,” Major General Al Matroushi continued. The World Civil Defense Day is celebrated every year on March 1, to commemorate the entry into force of the ICDO Constitution as an intergovernmental organization, on March1, 1972.
He added: “The World Civil Defense celebration is a reminder of the importance of combating all types of disasters, and aims to highlight the essential role played by civil defense bodies departments around the world. It also emphasizes the importance of concerted efforts between civil defense entities while discharging their duties, as well as the need to take advantage of the various media to deliver safety and prevention instructions to community members. The World Civil Defense Day is also intended to remind all countries of their obligation to support the International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO)’s missions and duties, which include promoting and developing the civil defense at the global level to curtail all types of risks. This can be achieved by organizing seminars and educational lectures to acquaint people with the civil defense’s tasks and duties, and distributing brochures, posters, awareness documentary films to the public, in coordination with institutions, companies, schools and universities”.
Moreover, Major General Al Matroushi indicated that the Civil Defense Authority is taking a number of actions that aim to protect lives, as well as public and private property against fire hazards, disasters, and accidents; in addition to ensuring the safety of transportation, communication and workflow in public facilities; and protecting national resources in all circumstances. He pointed out that the civil defense’s strategy is to preserve lives, property and the environment, and to acquaint members of the public with civil defense tasks and duties.
At the end of his speech, Major General Al Matroushi noted that the Civil Defense’s 4th Annual Fire Safety Technology Forum aims to showcase the latest applications and international practices in the field of both, public and individual safety. The forum will host a number of prestigious international experts and leading industry professionals, who will share their experiences, which could become part of the development components of the Civil Defense’s future plan. In conclusion, he wished everyone further success. After that, the Forum’s first session began, with three work papers on the agenda. The first paper was presented by Klaus Maurer from Germany, about naval fires’ response. Tony Cash, senior lead fire engineer at Transport for London, submitted a work paper about public transport accidents. The third work paper, presented by Dr. Ian Borthwick from Canada, tackled the issue of controlling the risks of major accidents.
During the second session, two work papers were reviewed and discussed. The first work paper tackled the accident recovery strategies, presented by John Galatas from Greece, and the second paper tackled the role of smoke control systems by Peter Mansi, fire officer from Britain.
In conclusion, Major General Rashid Al Matroushi and the attendees toured the fire protection equipments exhibition, organized by a number of specialized companies sponsoring the Forum.
At the end of the event, Major General Rashid Al Matroushi honored the speakers at the Forum.
Al Sha’far Calls for Increasing Coordination and Collaboration with Civil Defense
Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, asserted that the higher leadership dedicates significant attention to the Civil Defense Authority in the UAE. To this end, the Ministry of Interior, acting upon the directions of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, has endeavored diligently and tirelessly and succeeded in improving performance of Civil Defense bodies and staff members, to keep pace with the cultural achievements witnessed by the UAE in the urban and industrial fields. This comes in line with the MoI’s keenness to maintain its civil defense bodies at high readiness to efficiently fulfill its duties.
Lt. General Al Sha’far said: “The Directorate General of Civil Defense in the UAE has witnessed a prominent and strong development in the recent years. This was attained thanks to two factors: providing the human cadres with prestigious professional knowledge at relevant scientific institutes in the UAE and abroad, and providing the Directorate General of Civil Defense with modern equipment and vehicles. This has encouraged civil defense staff members in the UAE to exert unwavering efforts to maintain public safety, protect lives property, and national assets.”
Additionally, Lt. General Al Sha’far noted that maintaining civil defense’s efficiency requires increased coordination and collaboration among institutions and individuals alike. This strategy, which is implemented by the Directorate General of Civil Defense, has been highly acclaimed by all society segments. Furthermore, the Civil Defense departments across the UAE are organizing awareness and educational campaigns for community members from all walks of life, all year long. These programs and plans are a true reflection of this year’s slogan.
Lt. General Al Sha’far also added that this year’s World Civil Defense Day slogan, “Civil Defense and Culture of Prevention for a Safer Society” is a strategic goal, which contributes to strengthen public confidence in the civil defense services and its social role. “We are also striving to acquaint community members with the civil defense’s instrumental role in protecting society and maintaining its safety and security,” he stated. He also indicated that the Directorate General of Civil Defense is diligently working to increase awareness among members of the public based on this slogan, in order to equip them with the appropriate knowledge to handle emergencies in cases of disasters.
Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far called upon the public to participate efficiently in supporting the civil defense efforts aimed at preserving the safety of the nation and its people. He encouraged them to make good use of the awareness and guidance programs organized by the Civil Defense departments across the country, to be able to avoid disasters and the resulting risks.
In conclusion, Lt. General Al Sha’far said: “On this auspicious occasion, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all civil defense members for their dedicated and distinguished efforts to providing public safety, and protecting lives, property and national assets. I would also like to commend the great responsibilities they assume while braving dangerous situations. Their tasks require courage, bravery, and the ability to act with efficiency and readiness, in order to rescue people and reduce the losses, through rapid response and control in critical situations.”
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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.
Contacts
The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com
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