Words to the wise: ‘Untrained rescuers endanger lives’

LAHORE:

“Muhammad Ali, the great boxing champion, once said that he hated every minute of his training. He told himself he would not quit. ‘Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’ he famously said about his gruelling training,” Punjab Emergency Services Academy Director General Amir Hamza recalled on Thursday.

He was addressing the welcome ceremony for a badge of 600 Rescue cadets at Thokar Niaz Beg. Of these, 300 cadets were from the Punjab and 300 from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa. The cadets will be training at the academy for six months at the academy.

Hamza said, “You will be trained for very important tasks. After the training is complete, you will be asked to save lives in emergencies. This is not an easy job.” He said Rescue workers often worked in hazardous environments. “The work requires selflessness and dedication.”

“If a Rescue worker is not well-trained, he will endanger himself and others,” he said.  He said that Rescue 1122 was a disciplined force. “We will not tolerate violation of discipline,” he said. “Besides training, welfare of Rescue workers is also important to the government.” He hoped that the cadets would not face any problems during their stay at the academy.

Talking to The Express Tribune after the ceremony, a senior official of the Rescue 1122 said a revision of the training module was under consideration.

“This revision will come after feedback from workers in the field,” he said.  He said Rescue 1122 was expanding its operations and would establish offices at tehsil level after district level.

“The training period might also be reduced from six months to four months,” he said. He said the Punjab Emergency Services Academy was providing training to cadets from other provinces that did not have a training academy of their own.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2016.