Palestinian Authority Fire Brigade
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Palestine Fire Brigade |
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| Emergency number : 102 | |
| staff | |
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Active (without youth): |
approx. 1300 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) |
| Quota for women: | 0% |
The Fire Brigade of the Palestinian Autonomy or the Palestinian Civil Defense ( Arabic : الدفاع المدني الفلسطيني) ( Al-dafa'a al-madani al-falestini ) is responsible for the rescue and fire service in the Palestinian Territories . The Palestinian Red Crescent is responsible for the medical rescue service .
organization
The fire brigade is part of the civil protection in the Association of National Security Forces of the Palestinian Authority and is therefore organized militarily. The firefighters therefore begin military training in Jericho and wear military uniform. In 2011 the former commander of the Bethlehem fire department Ibrahim Ayisch was commissioned to set up a volunteer fire department .
Locations
- Jerusalem (Abu Dis)
- Ramallah ( Beitunia , Al-Bireh , Bir Zeit , Taybeh under construction)
- Hebron
- Nablus
- Bethlehem (Bethlehem, al-Ubeidiya)
- Tulkarem
- Kalkilia
- Jericho
- Salfit
- Tubas
Since the rift with Hamas in the Gaza Strip , the local fire brigades are no longer under the direct influence of the Palestinian Authority.
Service and missions
The alarm is sent directly to the responsible fire station via telephone number 102. A central control center or fire alarm centers are not available. For this reason, a man must always remain on duty for the telephone service during an operation, and this with a crew of only three to five men at a small base. Even in the central fire station near Ramallah, only 15 men are on duty.
Operations are carried out in 7-day shifts, shifts are always on Thursday mornings.
The majority of the operations are fire operations. In summer there are often hall fires and burning dumpsters. In winter there are weather-related operations due to floods and snow. In addition, there are repeated missions in violent demonstrations against the Israeli occupation, which lead to fires from incendiary devices and tear gas grenades .
vehicles
The vehicle fleet is partly outdated or inadequate. The new equipment comes mainly from donations from the EU and Japan . One problem with this is that used vehicles from European fire brigades cannot be brought to Palestine because the importation of vehicles that are more than five years old is generally prohibited. Therefore, only new cars can be delivered.
Most recently, the Palestinians received new fire trucks from Volvo in 2012 , which Katmerciler in Turkey expanded. They are not all-terrain, which is inappropriate for the topographical situation. The technical equipment only includes the basic equipment: pump, rapid attack device , fire-fighting cannon, respiratory protection for three people, rescue shears and some tools. The water tank holds 4,000 liters.
For the entire West Bank, there is a single aerial ladder with 30 meters, which is stationed in Beitunia . If necessary, it must be used between Hebron and Nablus . In the central guard there is also a small fire engine (KLF) and an emergency vehicle with American-style recovery equipment. There is also a heavy rescue vehicle and an old tanker.
Time and again, individual countries donate additional equipment.
According to Israeli traffic regulations firefighters used red light and siren, the vehicles carrying white / red authorities mark .
public relation
A detailed homepage and a Facebook page are operated. Since 2013 there has also been a quarterly magazine for civil protection.
Difficulties in the mission by the Israeli occupation
Because of the Israeli barrier and numerous roadblocks, it is often difficult to get to the operations. If IDF soldiers operate at a location, access is often denied until the troops have withdrawn. Again and again warning shots with rubber bullets are fired at the emergency vehicles to prevent them from advancing.
Cooperation with the Israeli fire department
Due to the political and security situation, cooperation with the fire brigade in Israel is not a matter of course.
Since the fire brigade is now “military personnel” of the autonomous authority, cooperation as it was before the introduction of autonomy (e.g. building site collapse in 1999) is not as easy. As a rule, the Israeli fire brigade only comes when there are no Palestinian forces present or the area is secured by the army or border guards. The deployment of Palestinian firefighters in Zone C ( Israeli settlements and connecting roads) and Israel is not planned. In Zone B, however, operations for Israeli accidents are carried out. Conversely, Israeli forces repeatedly help out in special operations, even in Zone A (full Palestinian jurisdiction). But there are also Palestinian missions in East Jerusalem , where individual parts of the city are separated by the barrier so that the Jerusalem fire brigade cannot reach them on time. This is e.g. B. the case in Kafr 'Aqab near Qalandia .
Camp fire in Beitunia in July 2008
In July 2008, a basement warehouse of the Ministry of Health with plastic bandages and medical accessories burned in the industrial area between Ramallah and Beitunia. Since access was only possible from one side, the extinguishing work lasted three days. With the help of the Israeli fire brigade, which came to the rescue during the night, openings were drilled into the ceiling from the street. The fire could only be put out after the Palestinians cleared the camp two days later.
Carmel Fire in December 2010
In December 2010 the unique situation arose when 21 firefighters with four fire engines from Bethlehem came to assist in Israel after a four-hour drive to the forest fire in the Carmel Mountains . Some of the vehicles donated by the EU were better equipped than some Israeli ones. Before a planned ceremony ten days later, there was a scandal because only seven of the ten firefighters to be honored received a permit to enter Israel.
Fires in November 2016
The forest fires that raged across Israel in November 2016 particularly threatened the city of Haifa . The Palestinians offered Israel four firefighting groups, which were then used to fight the fire in this city.
Special missions
Cable car fire in Jericho in 2015
On March 3, 2015, a gondola on the Jericho Cable Car caught fire while filming a television series. The fire brigade of Jericho had to extinguish the burning gondola and abseil the inmates who had fled on a support in time.
swell
- ^ Palestinian fire brigade in Bergisch Gladbach , Bergisch Gladbach citizen portal on July 4, 2012
- ^ UK provides emergency equipment to Palestinian civil defense , Ma'an News Agency on February 1, 2013
- ^ Israeli, Palestinians Rescue Crew , AP, July 8, 1999
- ↑ Palestinian firefighters extinguish Israeli bus blaze , Ma'an on August 13, 2012
- ↑ Police Fail to Investigate East Jerusalem Murder Beyond West Bank Separation Barrier , Ha-Aretz on July 27, 2020
- ↑ Palestinian firefighters come to Israels aid , Jerusalem Post on December 5, 2010
- ↑ Israel refuses entry to Palestinian firefighters being honored for Carmel fire assistance , Ha-Aretz 14 December 2010
- ^ Israel Accepts Palestinian Offer to Send Teams to Combat Fire , Ha-Aretz on November 25, 2016
- ↑ Horror in Jericho: Cable car caught on fire ( Memento of the original from August 23, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Jerusalem online on March 4, 2015
- ↑ Palestinian actor almost dies in TV prank , Ma'an News on March 5, 2015
