Passing Out Parade of 267 Rescuers Held at Emergency Services Academy

LAHORE MIRROR — The passing out parade of 267 rescuers trained for different tehsils of Punjab was held at Emergency Services Academy Lahore here on Saturday. Provincial Minister for Industries Commerce, Energy and Skills Development, SM Tanveer graced the ceremony as the Chief Guest. 

The Secretary Emergency Services Department, Dr Rizwan Naseer, and senior officials of the Punjab Government, Emergency Services Department & Emergency Services Academy also attended the ceremony. A large number of rescuers, their parents, and families also witnessed the passing-out parade.

Speaking on the occasion “Provincial Minister said, what a proud moment, and despite the heat, I am not feeling hot, I am a witness of your work, you guys have worked on my area in a fire emergency, and your performance is excellent”.

Provincial Minister congratulated the passed-out rescuers, their families & instructors of the Emergency Services Academy and said the role of Rescue 1122 in providing a sense of safety to society is self-explanatory. Rescuers are putting their lives in danger in emergencies such as fire incidents, smoke, floods, drowning incidents, building collapses, etc. to save the lives of others.

He stated that the key role of instructors is very important in any training institution. The highly professional instructors imparted the training not only to the Punjab rescuers but also to entire Pakistan rescuers. He also appreciated the officers, instructors, and officials of the emergency services academy. Now, this Emergency Services Academy has become a symbol of excellence at the international level.

Pakistan Rescue Team was also among the first team, which responded to the Turkiye Earthquake, and because of its performance, we as Pakistani feel honored today. S M Tanveer assured every possible support of the Punjab Government to Rescue 1122 and other departments.

Minister said that every rescuer is a hope of life for our society and all 24/7 hours services of ESD are providing a sense of safety to the public. He wished that the new rescuers would strive to maintain the standards of the services to serve humanity.

In his welcoming address, Secretary ESD Dr Rizwan Naseer took the oath from 267 passing-out rescuers and congratulated them on the successful completion of their professional training, and becoming a part of this live-saving emergency service.

At this occasion, Dr Rizwan Naseer also highlighted the performance of the Emergency Services Department, challenges, achievements, and transformation of services for the provision of services to the citizens on their doorsteps.

He also shared the journey of the service since its inception to the latest achievement of getting UN-INSARAG certification. Dr. Rizwan Naseer also briefed about the performance of Emergency Services, which includes rescuing over 12.7 million victims of emergencies since its inception in October 2004, the Fire Rescue Service has also responded to over 213122 fire emergencies and saved losses worth over Rs. 623 billion with professional firefighting on modern lines.

The Emergency Services Academy has trained over 24000 emergency personnel for all provinces of Pakistan since its inception and the academy is assisting in the training of other countries i.e. Tajikistan, Syria, and Sri Lanka.

Earlier, passed-out cadets demonstrated their professional skills in emergency management during mock exercises of deep-well rescue, water rescue, firefighting, urban search & rescue, rescue from confined space, and rescue from height. In the end, Chief Guest gave away awards to the best-performing Rescuers in each field.