Abu Dhabi: Armed with enthusiasm and determination, members of the UAE firefighting team are hoping to score big at this year’s UAE World Firefighter Challenge, which kicked off in the capital today (March 15).
The Emirati firefighters are competing in a series of physical contests designed to test their firefighting and rescue abilities, facing off against 300 contenders from 18 other countries.
Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, opened the event.
The event is being held as part of the 20,000-square metre International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR) 2016, which runs until Thursday. Organised by the Ministry of Interior, about 20,000 visitors are expected to visit the seventh edition of the national defence exhibition and its associated conferences.
“This is the fifth time I am participating in this [firefighter] challenge. You would think I’d be used to it by now, but these tests are very challenging and require a lot of preparation,” Ebrahim Ali, 26, an Emirati who has been a firefighter for nine years, told Gulf News.
Khalid Thwini, 35, another participant from the UAE team, said the contests get to the heart of being a firefighter, which require one to maintain an extremely “active lifestyle dominated by sport and physical fitness”.
At the culmination of three days of challenges, one firefighter will be lauded for his skill and expertise.
Happening alongside the challenge are a series of exhibitions, workshops and live-action demonstrations. As part of the three-day ISNR Abu Dhabi 2016, these are designed to engage specialists in the fields of cybersecurity, homeland defence, firefighting, and emergency response.
Starting tomorrow (March 16), experts will also meet to discuss trends and challenges in the fields of information security and occupational safety.
As reported by Gulf News last month, the ministry’s officials said that the Middle East’s homeland security market is set to grow at a compound annual rate of 18.7 per cent by 2020, which is three times the global average. This will be driven primarily by economic diversification and a massive scale-up of infrastructure development, including the new passenger terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport, and facilities for Dubai Expo 2020 and Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Maj Gen Ahmad Nasser Al Raisi, deputy chairman of the higher organising committee of the ISNR Abu Dhabi 2016, said that the event is the third biggest international exhibition and conference for national defence.
“Regional mega events alone are driving infrastructure investment of up to $700 billion (Dh2.57 trillion) between now and 2020. These investments include residential and commercial construction, transportation infrastructure and public utilities, all of which must be protected with advanced security systems and solutions,” he added.
