Civil Defence expands operations as population grows

The General Directorate of Civil Defence (GDCD) is all set to expand its nationwide operations considerably, in line with the population and business growth in Qatar, a senior official said yesterday.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf Times, GDCD’s Administrative Affairs Department director Brig Aman Saad al-Sulaiti said the new headquarters for the Civil Defence was under construction and would be ready by the year-end.

“The new headquarters will be adjacent to the Al Ahli Hospital and construction is progressing. We should be able to move in by the year end,” Brig al-Sulaiti said.

“The move will bring together all the departments of GDCD from various locations to a single building,” he added.

The first Civil Defence station in Qatar was established in 1955, but used to be known as “Extinguishing Police Section”, before a Ministry of Interior decree in 2005 changed its name and made it a full-fledged directorate.

“We are always enhancing the numbers of specialised and educationally-qualified officers in fire fighting and rescue operations and also the numbers of the fire-fighting equipment,” Brig al-Sulaiti said.

“We will be bringing onboard scores of new people, including engineers, by the year end, which will significantly increase our staff number” the official said.

According to him, new fire-fighting stations are constantly being added in areas of what the GDCD considers it in need of those stations.

“A new one is coming up in Mughlina (opposite the Police Station), another in Aziziya… one was recently opened in Al Da’ayen Municipality (up north),” Brig al-Sulaiti pointed out.

And although GDCD has a vast ambit of functions, from implementing the rules to technical services and disaster preparedness, the key focus at the moment is on prevention.

“You can have the biggest and the latest equipment to overcome a massive fire, but when the assessment shows that incident could have been avoided, you realise prevention is the right direction,” said Brig al-Sulaiti, a veteran at the GDCD.

“This is being done through exhibitions, public awareness, lectures, co-operation with ministries, holding mock drills, getting volunteers on board,” the official added.

The foremost reason for fire in Qatar, according to him, are short circuiting and smoking of tobacco.

The GDCD law essentially lays out the rules and regulations for everything in Qatar from construction of a building to traders of fire and safety equipment.

“No building can be built before a design is approved by us. No trader can sell fire and safety equipment before submitting us a catalogue or before our inspectors look at every single item at the customs,” Brig al-Sulaiti explained.