Modern, purpose-built headquarters providing a new home for the Island’s Civil Defence operation will be showcased at a special opening ceremony next week.
The base brings all Civil Defence vehicles, equipment and training facilities under one roof, in a bespoke warehouse next to the Department of Home Affairs HQ in Tromode.
A plaque to mark the occasion will be unveiled by Minister Malarkey who will be joined by DHA Chief Executive Dan Davies, Chief Constable Gary Roberts, Civil Defence volunteers and staff involved in the development. The Civil Defence catering truck will be on show in incident-ready mode, and guests will be invited to see inside the warehouse facility.
Civil Defence moves to a new home in its 70th anniversary year following the sale of the Department of Home Affairs’ former HQ at Homefield Road in Douglas. The new integrated facility will mean swifter and more efficient deployment of Civil Defence teams, as all resources are now centralised, including large trailers previously kept at a separate location.
Alongside garaging for vehicles, the HQ provides extensive storage space for a multitude of equipment, while a training and briefing area is adaptable as an incident room.
Civil Defence is part of the Island’s emergency planning capability, available to assist the emergency services on demand. Its teams are volunteers from different walks of life who train together weekly in skills and tactics needed to respond to serious incidents, whether natural or man-made. In October this year, Civil Defence teams assisted people affected by the flooding in Laxey, providing sandbags and pumping equipment and setting up a community rest centre.
Minister Malarkey said:
’I’m delighted to see our vital Civil Defence operation relocated to Tromode in a new HQ which will see the team well into the future. The spacious site and new premises offer excellent opportunities for developing the skills of up to 50 motivated volunteers and ensuring they are ready to deploy when the Island needs them.
He added:
‘Civil Defence provides a vital service to the Island community year-round and deserves the best facility we can provide. The opening marks the start of a new chapter for the organisation which is as committed to serving the public now as when it was established 70 years ago.’
Volunteers are trained first-aiders and two of the current team are paramedics. They prepare for scenarios ranging from search-and-rescue to evacuating buildings and running a casualty bureau. Routine duties include maintaining cordons around an incident site, delivering heavy equipment to front-line crews and providing respite and catering for emergency service personnel.
Civil Defence also plays a pivotal role in the safety of popular community events in the Island such as the Parish Walk, the End-to-End and Firefighters' walks and the Mountain Marathon, where its volunteer members act as first-aiders and marshals.
