Civil Defence
The Civil Defence is a volunteer based organisation that supports the front line emergency services. They are also involved in assisting local communities with over 4500 volunteer members throughout Ireland.
Their volunteers are trained in the following areas:
- Casualty
- Search and Rescue
- Auxiliary Fire Services
- Radiation Monitoring
- Welfare
- Communications
You can find more information on the Civil Defence website.
Civil Defence in Cork County is organised in three units, Cork North, Cork West and Cork South, with respective HQs in Mallow, Skibbereen and Kinsale. Each unit has approximately 45-60 active volunteers, drawn from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of experience and expertise.
The primary role of Civil Defence is to provide 2nd Line Emergency Response to the Principal Response Agencies ( PRAs: Local Authority, HSE, An Garda Siochana) in the areas of severe weather and flood response, missing person search, communications and voluntary emergency ambulance capability.
Volunteers are professionally trained in a wide variety of skills, and also receive instruction in Critical Incident Stress Management, Health and Safety and manual handling. Training exercises are regularly undertaken with the PRAs and other Voluntary Emergency Services to maintain a high level of readiness and to streamline procedures.