Qatar Delegates graduate from the Fire Service College

Ceri Darrell | Tuesday, November 01, 2011

On 22 September 2011 the Fire Service College was delighted to hold a Graduation Ceremony for ten officers from the Qatar Civil Defence to celebrate the successful completion of a two-year programme and the award of a NCFE accredited International Diploma in Fire Service Operational Management and International Diploma in Fire Safety.

This was the first cohort of ten officers of an ongoing Diploma programme for officers of the Qatar Civil Defence, studying a comprehensive programme of firefighting operations, fire behaviour, specialist rescue, hazardous materials and fire safety.  A second and third cohort are already undertaking their studies at the College and are currently at different stages of the programme, with discussions about further programmes already taking place.

The graduation ceremony, hosted by Directors Steve Copley and Andy Kettle, took place at the College and was attended by Director General of the General Directorate of Civil Defence Staff, Brigadier Abdulla Mohamed al-Suwaidi from Qatar, the Assistant Defence Attache, officials from the Qatar Embassy, family and friends of the delegates, as well as representatives from the College.

Brigadier al-Suwaidi said in his address at the Ceremony that this first batch of officers would form the nucleus for developing the department's operations in a wide range of fire service applications. He went on to say that the graduates would really make a contribution to the Civil Defence Directorate, as Qatar is witnessing notable development in establishing advanced civil defence centres in various parts of the country, in order to respond to the requirements of the comprehensive renaissance of the State in variety of fields.  The Qatar Ministry of Interior is moving towards an ambitious and integrated training plan to improve the performance of its staff and develop their skills by continuous training, providing them with knowledge on latest technologies of different kinds of specialisations and dispatching them abroad to join in the various education courses.

Peter Mansfield, Senior Tutor, International Programme Manager, said that "the consensus of the Fire Service College instructors who have taught the officers is that they have put in a great deal of effort with the courses they have attended throughout their time at the College.  Their training culminated with on-station attachments with our good friends in the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, where the officers had the opportunity to put this training into practice.  They have been admired and respected for their "esprit de corps" - their group spirit, their sense of pride and honour and consequently they have made many friends here along the way.  They have all been a credit to the State of Qatar, to the Qatar Civil Defence and to themselves".

Here, some of the delegates reflect on their experiences at the College during their training:

Khalid Al-Hajri said "The most enjoyable time in my life was at the Fire Service College and I gained a lot of experience from every course".

"I spent the best two years in my life at the Fire Service College, said Hass Al-Naimi, "I have learnt a lot about Fire Safety and Fire Operations.

Abdulaziz Al-Suwaidi said "In the last two years I have learnt a lot of information which will help me in my working life.  There were a lot of courses but the most enjoyable course was the aviation course".

"I built experience and knowledge about fighting fires in the last two years.  I enjoyed every course at the College, especially the Hazmat course" commented Mohammed Al-Suwaidi.

The officers from the Qatar Civil Defence who recently graduated from the Fire Service College are pictured here.

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