Major General Jassem Mohammed Al Marzouqi, General Commander of Civil Defence at the Ministry of Interior, has approved the new operational guidelines for civil defence centres. The guidelines were created according to best international practices for fire stations, under the supervision of Brigadier Mohammed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Director-General of Firefighting, Protection and Safety Affairs in the General Command of the Civil Defence.

Major General Al Marzouqi said that the new guidelines are considered an administrative management system in the centres, which aims to unify all administrative operations and regulate procedures in fire stations. The guidelines will also explain the roles and responsibilities of station officers, contributing to using international competitiveness indices of primary civil defence operations, while highlighting the daily activities of the stations by linking the guidelines to performance indicators.

The operational guidelines are considered among the main outcomes of the "My Centre, My Responsibility" initiative adopted earlier this year, to identify the centres’ scope of competence, the risks involved and their analysis, as well as to facilitate inspections and their classification according to the operational risks, while employing the right staff in the right locations, and raising the levels of prevention and safety in the facilities near the centres, he explained.

Al Marzouqi added that the General Command of the Civil Defence is working on enhancing the capacities of civil defence equipment, to improve the prevention and safety systems in properties and facilities under the framework of the Ministry of Interior’s strategy, which aims to apply the best international practices in risk management.

Brigadier Al Nuaimi said that the new guidelines for civil defence centres will include the unification of operational procedures for the centres, as well as identifying the responsibilities of centre officers and the requirements of achieving maximum efficiency through a daily programme. The plan will include field surveys on the ability of centres to identify risks, classify and analyse them, and put in place operational plans to address them.