Rescue 1122 to mark 2011 as – YEAR OF SAFETY

LAHORE – The Punjab Emergency Service Rescue 1122 will mark 2011 as a year of safety by preventing the maximum number of emergencies, Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer said on Monday. He was speaking at a press conference at the Emergency Services Academy.
Naseer said that community safety initiatives would be implemented through district emergency boards in collaboration with chambers of commerce & industry, district governments and community emergency response teams. He told journalists that Rescue 1122 has started a community safety programme for preventing emergencies and introducing a culture of safety to citizens by imparting necessary training.
He said that the emergency service wanted active participation of communities in identification of hazards and was taking appropriate remedial measures at the community level. The Rescue 1122 director general said that an effective emergency management system had been established in all districts of Punjab and Peshawar in 2010 but data showed an alarming increase in the number of avoidable emergencies.
He told journalists that if joint efforts were not made on a priority basis by the Rescue 1122, the print and electronic media, society and corporate sector for prevention of emergencies, every community would fall victim to such emergencies in the future. Naseer said that the Rescue 1122 would sign Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with chambers of commerce & industry and district governments of all districts in Punjab.
The district emergency boards would be responsible for implementation of safety measures in collaboration with the said partners, the Rescue 1122 DG said. He said that such an agreement had already been signed with the Sialkot and Rawalpindi chambers of commerce and industry, which had proved to be effective.
Naseer said that in order to declare 2011 a year of safety, a number of activities would be initiated including installation of fire hydrants, implementation of building safety codes, establishment of community emergency response teams, injury prevention research for a reduction in the number of traffic accidents and dissemination of public safety messages. Replying to a question, he said that the organisation conducted a detailed inquiry regarding transporting a tiger belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Hamza Shahbaz Sharif to Murree.
The Rescue 1122 DG said that during the investigation it was revealed that no such incident took place and the Rescue 1122 did not spent Rs 0.4 million for transporting the tiger. Naseer said that the Sialkot lynching incident was the most tragic incident in the Rescue 1122’s history, as it occurred near the organisation’s office.
He said that the Rescue 1122 probed into the matter and found out that Rescue 1122 officials were neither involved in it nor showed any negligence in performing their duties. Replying to a question, the Rescue 1122 DG said that Dr Ismail, who initially conducted an inquiry into the matter, was not dismissed for nominating rescue officials in the mishap. He said that Dr Ismail was not dismissed for clashing with the other inquiry officer over the same matter.
gOrganisation’s DG says emergency service did not transport Hamza
Shahbaz’s tiger
to Murree
Claims Rescue 1122
officials not
involved nor
negligent in Sialkot lynching incident