Saif bin Zayed: proactive efforts to prevent the effects of natural hazards, disasters and crises

Abu Dhabi (Al Ittihad)

The Federal National Council adopted, during its eighth session of the second regular session of the seventeenth legislative term, which was held on March 16, 2021 AD at the council’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, headed by His Excellency Saqr Ghobash, Chairman of the Council, and in the presence of Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Interior, a number of recommendations, during the discussion of the topic of “Ministry of Interior policy regarding civil defense”, which relate to legislation, job needs, security and safety services, awareness, and coordination with the relevant authorities.
The Council agreed to return the recommendations of the subject contained in the report to the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee for reformulation, according to what had been discussed by the Council.
The session was attended by Abdul Rahman Muhammad Al Owais, Minister of Health and Community Protection, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai, Lieutenant General Saif Abdullah Al Shafar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, and a number of senior figures Officers.
Before embarking on the discussion of the general topic, Nasser Muhammad al-Yamahi, the rapporteur of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee, presented a summary of the committee’s report on the topic, which included three axes: Rehabilitation and training of civil defense departments ’employees, according to urban developments, and awareness programs on conditions of security and safety in society. And coordination with the competent authorities in unifying the security and safety conditions for the buildings and the services provided by the civil defense.

«Emirates Code»
In response to the questions and discussions of the council’s members about the Ministry of Interior’s policy in the matter of civil defense, Lieutenant-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, said that the UAE possesses the “Emirates Code”, which is the UAE’s guide to protection from The dangers of fire, and it is considered one of the best practices and specialized applications, which aims to protect individuals and avoid fire accidents. The decrease in fire accidents in buildings reflects the extent to which it keeps pace with the aspirations and the tremendous urban and technical development in the country.
His Highness responded to a question about the ministry’s plan to develop scientific and skill capabilities and capabilities to ensure the readiness and efficiency of civil defense personnel to face disasters and crises, and to protect lives and property, saying: The UAE is making proactive efforts to prevent and reduce the effects of risks, natural disasters and crises, as the Ministry is keen to rehabilitate and train Civil defense employees in the Civil Defense Academy, refining their skills, and raising the level of professional performance through their participation in specialized training courses that technically qualify them to keep pace with the development witnessed by the state in all aspects of life.
Regarding the Ministry’s plan to raise salaries and financial allocations for civil defense employees, His Highness appreciated the interest and keenness of the Council’s members on their children in the civil defense apparatus, and their appreciation of the challenges and risks they face. His Highness presented a benchmark comparison showing the salary of the firefighter in the UAE and its counterpart in many countries of the world. It is considered one of the best countries in the world in terms of salaries for civil defense workers, explaining his Highness that we in the UAE are fortunate with our wise leadership that pays great attention to its children and provides them with a decent life.

Plan to coordinate
His Highness the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior responded to a question about the existence of a plan to coordinate with educational institutions to offer academic programs in the field of emergencies and crises, saying: Training and qualification are essential for success. Therefore, coordination is made with the “Rabdan” Academy, which has experts at the highest level in In the field of training, and that the Ministry is striving to raise the efficiency of civil defense employees by enrolling them in specialized courses at the Civil Defense Academy. His Highness invited members of the Council to visit Rabdan Academy to see academic programs in the field of integrated emergency management, and business continuity management with a bachelor’s degree, and a number of Programs for police and public security, in addition to inviting them to visit the Civil Defense Academy, which provides applied programs in the field of civil defense and advanced courses that it holds in this field.
In his response to the questions addressed by the members, His Highness affirmed that volunteering in the field of civil defense is open, and there are volunteers who are specialized and skilled in this field, and there is a plan to take advantage of the national service model, which includes in its ranks national cadres of all specializations, and can be used in organizing International conferences and exhibitions, pointing out that in light of the urban development witnessed by the country and the presence of high-rise towers, the Civil Defense Academy’s specialized training programs will be reviewed to upgrade it, to provide quality courses that keep pace with the renaissance and development the country is witnessing in various fields.

Save lives and property
Representatives of the Ministry of the Interior presented at the beginning of the session the policy of the Ministry of Interior in the matter of civil defense, through the application of the highest standards of preparedness and readiness.
Major General Dr. Jassim Muhammad Al-Marzouqi, Commander-in-Chief of Civil Defense at the Ministry of Interior, and a number of officers at the General Command of Civil Defense reviewed statistics related to the rates of fire rates of all kinds, deaths resulting from them, and the achieved response rate, in addition to comparisons with a number of developed countries around the world, which are It is clearly evident in the leadership of civil defense, and its achievement of distinguished levels of performance and achievement.
Al-Marzouki touched on the process of ensuring the achievement of strategic goals in preserving lives and property, explaining that the civil defense agencies are based on a set of laws issued by the Council of Ministers that enhance the work of civil defense by adopting clear policies and effective work mechanisms to prevent fires and ensure preparedness and preparedness, from Through the enablers, including the operational manuals, that draw the standards and controls for excellence and the application of the Emirates Code, and institutional measurement methods for reviewing and improving performance, including the executive frameworks at the Ministry of Interior, which follow and ensure the sustainability of leadership and follow-up of the Cabinet teams for indicators, as well as the policy of electronic linkage and exchange Information with partners from government agencies, and automating services with a completion rate of 98%.

23 members present their interventions
His Excellency Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee, talked about global competitiveness, indicators of civil defense incidents, the role of the Ministry of Interior in preserving the position it has achieved, and the efforts it has made to maintain its first position compared to other countries, according to the report of the “CTIF” organization. Through the low percentage of deaths and injuries resulting from fires per 100 thousand of the population, pointing out that preserving this position, and rising on the ladder of global indicators, requires distinguished and well-planned efforts and hard work, especially in light of the conditions in which events and developments are accelerating at an unprecedented degree. .

Home and dwelling subscription
Aisha Al-Bairaq said: The Ministry of Interior is one of the leading ministries in providing government services in a way that achieves a competitive advantage, and is considered a reference in evaluating the distinguished government performance. Through immediate response ?, What are the rates of implementation? What are the cases and categories covered? And she called for the ministry to adopt an initiative to sponsor the installation of devices for those who receive social assistance from the Ministry of Community Development.
Sabreen Al Yammahi stated that the UAE looks at the citizen in all respects, as the Civil Defense Department issues special approvals for investment plans and their approval, and after the start of their implementation, it requires investors to make some fundamental changes within the security and safety system, even if it was previously approved by it in the event of any decision being issued. New landlord may have costly modifications. Wondering about flexibility in implementing these decisions, and finding possible alternatives that fulfill the required purpose, while taking into account the investor.
Shatha Al-Naqbi indicated that the UAE enjoys a long coastline, and in some cases medium or large ship accidents may occur, and she inquired about the ministry’s role in dealing with accidents that occur within the country’s territorial waters.
Khalfan Al Shamsi said: The companies that work in the field of examination suffer from some challenges in their field work, inquiring about the periodic meetings between companies, management and strategic experts in the Civil Defense Department to listen to their proposals as strategic partners.
The representatives of the Ministry of Interior responded: The Emirati code that was developed after consulting with all partners is included in this topic, and the meeting takes place with all partners and their opinions and suggestions are taken in any amendment that takes place, and workshops are also addressed and held with all the concerned authorities from municipalities and economic bodies when making any amendment Done on the code.
In turn, Muhammad Al-Kashf said the committee discussed in its report the bonus, health, safety and readiness of centers in terms of equipment and cadres in various state centers, and it is imperative to benefit from the experiences of retirees, and to teach them to harness these experiences and information to benefit from them as advice in the future.
Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded: A wonderful proposal, and we are fortunate with the national service in terms of transferring knowledge and expertise.
Hamad Ahmed Al-Rahumi, First Deputy Chairman of the Council said: The committee’s report touched upon the need to increase salaries, incentives, bonuses, risk allowance, and health insurance, to encourage citizens to join the civil defense, and we are a country competing for competencies, so I hope that there will be a comparison between salaries in local departments. And federalism within the state so that there is a recruitment of competencies in the local and federal, in order to preserve the specialized human cadre. He inquired about the existence of a database for former civil defense personnel to be called upon in time of major disasters to be a support team in time of need.
Afra Al-Alili said: The work of civil defense is a valued work, especially in rescue, evacuation, ambulance and other operations, and there must be among these efforts female elements working in the field of civil defense in the field, inquiring about the ministry’s efforts to attract women to work in civil defense and national ambulance.
His Highness replied: We have included 15 firefighters in the civil defense team and they have proven their efficiency.

Civil Defense College
Adnan Hamad Al Hammadi addressed the focus of training outputs at the College of Civil Defense, and suggested that its role should not be limited to qualification and annual courses, by adopting educational programs in fire sciences, and creating a specialized teaching and educational staff to manage and operate the academy.
Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded: The academy provides international levels of specialized courses, and there are no scientific certificates worldwide regarding civil defense.
Sumaya Abdullah Al-Suwaidi touched on the recurring incidents of losing tourists in mountainous areas, and suggested establishing a rescue center equipped with advanced equipment and mechanisms in mountainous areas, including Jabal Jais, to speed up the immediate response to reports that require search and rescue.
His Highness replied: There is an independent body concerned with search and rescue that uses the latest types of aircraft and the latest devices and equipment .. We have three levels of response, the first level is local, and it may need support at the federal level, and the third at the specialized level.

Houses and cars
Hamid Al-Abbar Al-Shamsi called for organizing remote courses for homeowners, children and assisting groups on how to deal with fire extinguishers in homes and cars.
Lieutenant-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded that specialized courses were held through social media, and these courses are also available on the ministry’s website and can be viewed, and many of them are directed to people of determination and in different languages.
Dr. Tariq Al-Tayer said that I submit a proposal to build a huge network of tanks in various residential and industrial areas, to supply water in the event of fire, which will contribute to reducing the cost for investors, dispensing with electrical pumps and maintenance, and connecting the network to new homes.
Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded: Every building or warehouse needs specific extinguishing specifications, as the stored petroleum or highly flammable materials do not use water.

Protection systems
Obaid Khalfan Al-Ghoul Al-Salami said, despite the efforts of the General Command of Civil Defense, and its cooperation with the competent government departments and institutions to ensure access to the highest levels of safety and fire prevention, it turned out that some buildings do not have safety specifications to confront fires in the event of their outbreak, such as cylinders Extinguishing or alarm devices, as it has been observed that children fall from the balconies of the buildings due to the lack of adequate protection systems on the balconies and windows in some buildings, and the absence of legislation that obliges the owners to install these systems.

Volunteer work
Maryam Majid bin Thaniyah touched on volunteer work in the specialized civil defense, and the importance of finding volunteer individuals to work as support in the defense process, and in cases of disasters and emergencies, and inquired about the Ministry’s plan to rehabilitate community members from residents and citizens.
Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded: Volunteering in the field of civil defense is open, and there are volunteers who specialize in medicine and engineering, and from various disciplines and they are skilled in this field, and there is a plan to benefit from the national service model, which includes in its ranks national cadres from all Specializations, and we prefer to work with the national service, because we are not dealing with an individual, but rather with an institution.
Ahmed Abu Shihab Al-Suwaidi inquired about the existence of laboratories specialized in preparing reports of fire accidents, explaining that the specialized forensic laboratory supports the analysis of the results of the reports in case studies.
Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded: The criminal laboratories in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have an independent department, and they specialize in fire accidents, and the fire may be related to a criminal or economic matter and others, but if it is isolated, the value of the laboratory will decrease, and there is a specialty for everything. These laboratories are specialized. Internationally.