UNIFIL French firefighters train with Lebanese Civil Defense volunteers

previous next
22 Jan 2020

UNIFIL French firefighters train with Lebanese Civil Defense volunteers

UNIFIL French firefighters trained with 16 Lebanese civil defense volunteer firefighters with particular focus on disaster relief management and road rescue in their main base in Dayr Kifa, south Lebanon, last week.

During the 16-17 January training programme, French and Lebanese rescue teams were placed in near-realistic scenarios to intervene in vehicle accidents with multiple casualties.

The training programme also allowed firefighters from both sides to share their know-how in the field of first aid, in particular during road rescue.

The fire brigade chief of UNIFIL’s French-led Force Commander’s Reserve (FCR), Warrant Officer Sébastien, said the two days of exchanges were rich and beneficial to both the Lebanese civil defense personnel as well as FCR firefighters.

“It’s a good chance to be able to share our knowledge of first aid with our Lebanese counterparts,” he said. “Our working methods are close, and these volunteers show a real enthusiasm to share the exercises with us."

UNIFIL peacekeepers work closely with the Lebanese Civil Defense, a public civil emergency service that carries out firefighting, search and rescue activities across the country.

UNIFIL’s cooperation with the Lebanese Civil Defense 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 like the one conducted by FCR.

 

Photos: UNIFIL FCR DAMAN XXXV