The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today donated a number of firefighting and rescue assets to the Lebanese Civil Defense (LCD), a public civil emergency service that carries out firefighting, search and rescue activities across the country.

During a ceremony held in the UNIFIL Headquarters, the UN Mission’s head, Major General Michael Beary, handed over 72 UN assets, including firefighting pumps, cutting equipment, pressure and firefighting pumps, breathing devices, composite and steel cylinders, to the Vice Mayor of the Municipality of Marjayoun, Sari Labib Gholmeih. The donated assets will be utilized by LCD’s regional office in Nabatieh.

In his remarks, Major General Beary said the donation marks “another milestone” in the ongoing cooperation between UNIFIL and LCD.

“I am acutely aware that the Lebanese Civil Defence and its mainly volunteer firefighters will be key partners for UNIFIL in the event of any Protection of Civilians incident and for that reason UNIFIL is proud to assist the organization in any way that it can,” he said.

UNIFIL’s Deputy Head of Mission Imran Riza said that the UNIFIL support will strengthen LCD’s “safe and effective” response to fire hazards in south Lebanon. “While I hope they will be of support to your daily operations, I also wish for the summer season to pass quietly and without the need to use them,” said Mr. Riza. South Lebanon is prone to fire hazards during the dry summer season.

UNIFIL’s cooperation with LCD dates back to 2008 and has encompassed a plethora of support interventions ranging from equipping of the existing civil defense facilities through quick impact projects (QIPs) to facilitation of joint drills and training courses.

Since the launch of such training courses, a number of LCD personnel operating in UNIFIL’s area of operation have received training from the UN Mission. This is in addition to a wide range of similar capacity-building trainings organized by various UNIFIL troop-contributing countries.

Speaking in today’s ceremony, Mr. Gholmeih said the donation enables LCD in carrying out its public safety duties “in an excellent manner.”

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Article: Tilak Pokharel

Video Camera: Suzane Badereddine

Video Editor: Suzane Badereddine

Stills: Zeina Ezzeddine

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