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The last year witnessed a decrease in fire incidents compared to 2019 primarily due to more awareness among society members, a senior official at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said.
He also said that the response time to reach fire incidents and rescue is between 7 – 9 minutes. “Currently we have 23 centres that provide our services throughout the country, divided into all areas. The General Directorate of Civil Defence has divided the areas into three sectors: Doha sector, which includes 11 centres, then the South sector having six centres, and the Northern sector with six centres,” said Head of the Preventive Awareness Section at the General Directorate of Civil Defence at the Ministry of Interior, Colonel Jaber Mohammad Al Marri.
Speaking to Qatar Radio recently, he explained that the reason behind the decrease in fire incidents is efforts of the Department in creating awareness in society.
Colonel Al Marri stressed the necessity of taking all safety measures especially during winter camping season such as extinguishers and fire blankets, noting that early hours of the fire’s incident are very important and contribute to reducing fire losses.
The General Directorate of Civil Defence at MOI pays special attention to the educational aspect among campers, which aims to familiarise the campers with aspects of safety and security, and how to prevent accidents that may occur as a result of the wrong use of heating and electrical connections, he said.
Al Marri added: “In cooperation with a number of other departments of the Ministry of Interior and some other bodies, the General Directorate of Civil Defence conducts many visits to the campers to educate them more about the required safety measures, whether before, or after camping.”
The mission of the General Directorate of Civil Defence and its related departments is to highlight the potential risks in homes, procedures for securing kitchens, heating tools, etc, through meetings, plans, and awareness programmes that work to activate this theme.
The General Directorate of Civil Defence added 11 fire trucks to its fleet late in 2019, in addition to 23 other vehicles that were contracted, which will come successively during the current year, all of which work in the field of extinguishing and protecting buildings and towers, rescuing accidents and land-based places, and dealing with chemicals.
