Interior Minister Lt-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa today visited the General Directorate of Civil Defence, where he welcomed the Chief of Public Security Major-General Tariq Al Hassan and Director-General of Civil Defence.
At the beginning of the visit that was part of the celebrations of the International Civil Defence Day, marked across the world today, the Minister expressed thanks and appreciation to civil defence personnel for the sincere efforts they exert in the protection of lives and property. He hailed the active response of the civil defence for all cases and the follow up of plans and programmes in combating crisis and disasters.
The Interior Minister stressed that the workload on civil defence personnel has improved their expertise, while directing for improvement in performance through training and benefit from experiences of other countries.
He highlighted efforts to enhance the sector that include training and utilisation of latest devices and equipment, as well as increasing the number of centres to meet developments in Bahrain. He affirmed importance of the community partnership concept in fighting fire and reducing accidents by enhancing general safety levels.
The Director-General of Civil Defence hailed the support of the Interior Minister and Chief of Public Security to enhance this vital sector for advanced general safety of the public. He highlighted that the department organises awareness plans and programmes throughout the year for all segments in society.
During the visit, the Interior Minister was briefed about the future vision to develop civil defence and its general goals to enhance performance level in case of swift response and professionalism in dealing with cases. He toured the department and learned about firefighting capabilities in buildings and high-rise towers. He also launched the new vehicles and equipment that were introduced recently to enhance work efficiency.
As part of the event, a citizen expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Interior Minister and civil defence personnel for their efforts that led to the rescue of his family members when a fire broke in their house.
The Minister honoured a number of distinguished officers, commission-officers and civil defence personnel, as well as some Bahrainis who helped in firefighting and rescue operations as part of the community partnership concept.