Rescue 1122 launches emergency handbook

DG says wearing helmet halves risk of injury in motorbike accident.

LAHORE:

Rescue 1122 launched its Emergency Handbook on preparing communities to deal with disasters as it honoured its best workers at an event here on Thursday.

Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer said that the handbook was meant to inform the general public of the importance of being prepared for emergencies. He said that community-level teams should be set up for immediate response in emergencies and to train volunteers.

A public relations officer for Rescue 1122 later told The Express Tribune that copies of the handbooks would be sent to all schools and colleges. They would also soon be made available in the market for a price of around Rs200.

Earlier, Dr Naseer said that Rescue 1122’s Community Safety Programme had been launched in 900 public schools and 120 colleges in Punjab and 2,617 volunteers had already been trained.

He said the rescue services had conducted 916,701 operations in the province. Rescue 1122 had responded to over 490,662 medical emergencies, 370,083 road traffic accidents, 25,569 fires, 2,155 building collapses and 1,901 emergencies related to drowning. Rescue services were provided to the injured victims of 24,315 crimes.

He said that 50 per cent of all injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents could be prevented if the motorcyclists wore helmets. He asked parents to ensure their children wear helmets when riding on a motorbike.

Dr Naseer advised all citizens to save a phone number in their mobile phones under the name ‘In case of emergency’, or ICE, so that if they got into an accident, rescuers could quickly inform their family. He asked businesses to donate ambulances to Rescue 1122.

The best rescuers of 2010 were awarded cash and souvenirs. Farhan Jilani was named best lead fire rescuer, Mohammad Asif as best DERT (disaster emergency rescue technician) rescuer, Shahbaz Ahmed as best fire rescuer and Baberul Hassan as best rescue driver.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2011.