Civil Defence Ireland ( ga, Cosaint Shibhialta na hÉireann) is the national

civil defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

organisation of Ireland. It is a statutory agency of the Irish

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

and is administered by local authorities. It was established in 1951 in response to the threat of

nuclear disaster A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility. Examples include lethal effects to individuals, lar ...

posed by the

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Today it is an emergency response and

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ...

agency whose purpose is to provide aid, assistance and relief in times of emergency or natural disaster. It may also support primary emergency response agencies namely the Garda Síochána,

HSE National Ambulance Service The National Ambulance Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Náisiúnta Otharchairr) is the statutory public ambulance service in Ireland. The service is operated by the National Hospitals Office of the Health Service Executive, the Irish national heal ...

, and local authority fire services when requested. Civil Defence Ireland consists almost entirely of volunteers, numbering 4500 as of February 2019.

History

Civil Defence Ireland was established in 1951 in response to the threat of

posed by the

. It was envisaged as a community based self-help organisation that could provide protection for the civilian population during times of war. One of its first notable roles following its foundation was to assist

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

fleeing violence in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

as a result of

the troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. This involved providing accommodation and welfare services on both a local and national level. In addition the civil defence provided support during major emergencies such as the 1965 North Wall Depot Fire and the 1981

Stardust fire The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. Some 800 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injure ...

. In the mid-1970s the main focus of the organisation started to shift with the establishment of a warden service. Volunteers were equipped and trained to monitor radiation levels that may occur in the event of a nuclear disaster. Following the

Chernobyl Disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 nuclear reactor, reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainia ...

in 1986, civil defence volunteers provided valuable monitoring to assess the consequences of the disaster on Ireland. By the start of the 1990s, with the threat of nuclear war and conflict receding, the organisation again began to change focus. A greater emphasis has since been placed on the role of civil defence to provide support within their communities in particular during major events and emergencies. During the 2000s and 2010s civil defence played a major role in assisting during severe weather events such as storms and flooding.

Role

Civil Defence volunteers are trained to provide a number of different services to their communities. Services can vary by location, with not all units providing all these roles. Areas with a larger number of volunteers such as Dublin and Cork may have dedicated structures with volunteers being trained specifically for one service (AFS/Casualty/Rescue, etc.). Units with a smaller number of volunteers generally operate as a single location based unit with many multidisciplinary volunteers. The following five different services are provided by Civil Defence Ireland. Auxiliary Fire Service The primary role of this service is to provide assistance to the local authority fire service when requested. Volunteers are trained in basic firefighting and water pumping. Generally this service is involved in providing flood relief by pumping water from affected areas. Rescue Service Cork City SFFR Course

The primary role of this service is to provide search and rescue/recovery services for missing persons in a wide range of scenarios. Volunteers are trained to provide a range of capabilities from basic search to,

urban search and rescue Urban search and rescue (abbreviated as USAR or US&R) is a type of technical rescue operation that involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in an urban area, namely structural collapse due to natu ...

swift water rescue Swift water rescue (also called "white water rescue") is a subset of technical rescue dealing in white water river conditions. Due to the added pressure of moving water, swift water rescue involves the use of specially trained personnel, ropes an ...

, and High-line/

technical rescue Technical rescue is the use of specialised tools and skills for rescue, including vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue, water rescue, and wilderness search and rescue. These often requ ...

. In addition some units are equipped with watercraft such as

jetski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

, and

RHIB A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are i ...

s etc. Casualty/Ambulance Service: Clare CD Ambulances Visit of Pope

The role of this service is to provide additional medical and ambulance cover in the event of a major emergency. In addition, Civil Defence also provides ambulance and medical cover for events within their community. Volunteers are certified by the PHECC from

Community First Responder A Community first responder (CFR), is a person available to be dispatched by an ambulance control centre to attend medical emergencies in their local area. They can be members of the public, who have received training in life-saving interventions s ...

level through to

Emergency Medical Technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics a ...

. A number of units also have members who are professional

Paramedics A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

, Advanced Paramedics, Nurses and Doctors who can practice at their respective levels while volunteering. Welfare Service The purpose of the welfare service is to provide care, comfort and shelter to members of the community during major emergencies. Volunteers may provide shelters and catering services to displaced people. During the Winter months, the welfare service provides a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously re ...

in Dublin at their base, staffed with volunteers from across Ireland. Warden Service The warden service is responsible for the provision of communications within the unit, it provides

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VH ...

Marine radio Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of two way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore (for example with harbormasters), and in certain circumstances ship-to-ai ...

and

TETRA Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by ...

radio capabilities. In addition, the service also provides radiological monitoring.

Organisation Structure

National Level

The Civil Defence Branch of the Irish Department of Defence is headquartered in

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Crónán of Roscrea, Saint Crónán of Roscrea ...

, Co. Tipperary, and is charged with the management and development of Civil Defence at a national level. The headquarters provides national policy direction and planning for the organisation, the procurement of major items of uniform and equipment at a national level, and is responsible for the provision of training through the Civil Defence College. Civil Defence College Drones National Training

The Civil Defence College was initially based at

Ratra House Ratra House ( ga, Teach Ráth an tSratha), sometimes called Little Ratra, is one of the minor state residences located in Dublin's Phoenix Park. Until 2006 it was used as the Civil Defence School. The building, which dates from the early 19th cen ...

in Dublin's

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tr ...

before relocating to Roscrea in 2006. The college serves to provide potential instructors with a level of education that will allow them to teach classes of volunteers to be competent in their service's skills. Courses include AFS Instructor, Radio Communications Operator/Instructor, Emergency First Responder and

. The college is approved by the Pre-hospital Emergency Care Council ( PHECC) to train members to practitioner (EMT) level and is approved to implement the

Clinical Practice Guidelines Clinical may refer to: Healthcare * Of or about a clinic, a healthcare facility * Of or about the practice of medicine Other uses * ''Clinical'' (film), a 2017 American horror thriller See also * * * Clinical chemistry, the analysis of bodily flu ...

(CPGs) set down by PHECC. Civil Defence also operates a national training centre located to the rear of Ratra House in Dublin. The facility features an outdoor training range built originally to resemble a bombed out street, it features a number of different sites that can be used to train volunteers in specialist skills. The training centre also includes lecture rooms, and accommodation for up to 25 people.

Local Level

The majority of the work of Civil Defence occurs at the local authority level. Funding of the organisation is shared on a 70/30 basis between the Department of Defence and the local authority, with the day-to-day operations administered by a local authority appointed Civil Defence Officers (CDO) and Assistant Civil Defence Officers (ACDO). With the exception of these appointed personnel, almost all other members are volunteers. The CDO may appoint volunteer officers and instructors who assist in the administration and training within the unit. Volunteer members make themselves available to attend training throughout the year and may participate in local and national exercises to test their skills. Volunteers are also expected to participate in duties in their local community often providing services at sporting, music and cultural events. In the event of a request by a civil power, a Civil Defence Officer may activate volunteers, who will assist the primary response agencies.

Rank structure

Civil Defence Ireland is organised along a standardised rank and command structure originally based on the ranks of the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...

. The volunteer ranks and their insignia are based on and resemble the pre-1950 ranks of the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing bran ...

with civilian titles used in place of martial ones. The red bars of the non-officer ranks of Assistant Leader and Leader correspond to

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

and Sergeant respectively. The gold bars/pips of the officer ranks of 3rd, 2nd, 1st Officer and Commander correspond to the ranks of 2nd and 1st

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and Commandant ( Major) respectively. Originally there were no markings for regular volunteers, with a blank rank slider being worn, however, in recent years a blue bar was introduced for volunteer members. Civil Defence Officers and Assistant Civil Defence Officers are paid employees and are appointed by their respective local authority. At the discretion of the Civil Defence Officer, volunteer officers and leaders are appointed to assist in the command and administration of the unit.

Rank Insignia

Vehicles

The organisation uses many different types of vehicles often varying by unit. Some vehicles are purpose-built and some have been adapted into new roles such as mobile incident command units. Many of the vehicles have all-terrain capabilities such as

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pickup trucks. They ...

/ Mercedes G Class field ambulances,

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

and

Iveco IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger ...

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...

lorries and

Bandvagn 206 Bandvagn 206 (Bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a Tracked articulated vehicle, tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds (now part of BAE Systems Platforms & Services) for the Swedish Army. It consis ...

personnel carriers. Standard vehicles such as emergency ambulances, support units and class B fire appliances are also available for use by their respective services. Vehicle livery is generally non-standardised orange and blue with white paintwork with high visibility markings on the rear of the vehicles. The Water Rescue Unit have a fleet of inshore patrol vessels and

rigid-hulled inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are i ...

Uniforms

Civil defence volunteers and officers wear two main standard configurations of uniforms within the organisation, namely the Service Dress No. 1 and the Workwear No. 2 Uniform Uniform. All volunteers are issued with the standard Workwear No. 2 Uniform which consists of: * Boots * Baseball cap * Hi-viz vests * Navy combat trousers * Navy open necked shirt * Navy waterproof trousers * Orange and navy waterproof jackets * Soft shell long sleeved jackets * White Wicking T-shirt National guidelines clearly outline rules for the wear of the uniform such as "Badges/Decorations or any other items CANNOT be worn or attached to any item of the Workwear Uniform i.e. shirt, t-shirt, waterproof jacket, soft shell jacket."Wearing of the Civil Defence Uniform, CIVIL DEFENCE CIRCULAR CD 02/2012 https://www.civildefence.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-Wearing-of-the-Civil-Defence-Volunteer-Uniform-Circular-CD-02-of-2012.pdf The No.1 Dress Uniform, is worn at certain occasions under the direction of the local Civil Defence Officer. The No. 1 Dress Uniform consists of a navy tunic, navy trousers/skirt, white long sleeve shirt, navy clip-on tie, white lanyard, black footwear and black beret (officers wear a peaked cap in place of the beret). During particular occasions (such as a

guard of honour A guard of honour (British English, GB), also honor guard (American English, US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, o ...

) the uniform will be supplemented with additional components such as White Gloves, White Belt, etc. as directed by the Civil Defence Officer. Due to budgetary restrictions in recent years, volunteers are only to be issued a No.1 dress uniform when the need arises. While all members wear the workwear uniform while on duty, specialist personnel may be issued with personal protection equipment for their role. For example, Auxiliary Fire Service personnel are issued with firefighting jackets/trousers, gloves, fire boots and

firefighter's helmet For centuries, firefighters have worn helmets to protect them from heat, cinders and falling objects. Although the shape of most fire helmets has changed little over the years, their composition has evolved from traditional leather to metals ( ...

s. Medical Personnel are issued with orange tactical vests. Members of the rescue service wear helmets. Trained Water Rescue personnel are issued with

drysuit A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...

s, water rescue helmets and

Personal flotation device A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

s (PFDs).

Notable emergency calls

The Civil Defence can be activated by request from civil power ( gardaí), local authority, fire services and the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...

. The organisation may also respond to incidents witnessed in active duty such as road traffic collisions. They may also respond to non-statutory requests at the discretion of the Civil Defence Officer. Selected notable events in the organisation's history are: * 1965 North Wall Depot Fire – firefighting support (in support of the

Dublin Fire Brigade The Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB; ga, Briogáid Dóiteáin Átha Cliath) is the local authority fire service, fire and rescue service and ambulance service for Dublin, Dublin City and the majority of the Greater Dublin Area. It is a branch of Dub ...

) * 1979 Support for the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II * 1981

– disaster relief (supporting Dublin Fire Brigade) * 1987 Raglan House Explosion – firefighting and rescue (supporting Dublin Fire Brigade) * 1995 Dublin/Wicklow Mountains Forest Fires – firefighting (supporting Dublin Fire Brigade) * 2002 Flooding in Dublin's North Inner City – rescue and water pumping (supporting Dublin Fire Brigade) * 2009 Adverse weather Nationwide – flood relief and water supply (supporting County Fire Services,

and Gardaí) * 2017 Storm Ophelia response. * 2018 Storm Emma response. * 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Response

Honours and awards

Honours worn in the order shown.

Service Medals

Service medals are awarded for continuous service in increments of 10 years. Only one service medal or ribbon may be worn at any one time depending on length of service.

Other Awards

Eligible members may also wear the following awards in the order shown.

Gallery

File:Civil defence practice.jpg, Civil Defence training in the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

File:Kildare CD Field Ambulance Land Rover Storm Emma.jpg, Kildare Civil Defence

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rove ...

field ambulance File:Kerry CD Storm Emma Assist.jpg, Kerry Civil Defence

Unimog The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...

assisting in the transport of hospital staff during Storm Emma 2018 File:Polaris and Ambulance Dub CD.jpg, Dublin Civil Defence

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

and Ambulance File:Civil Defence K9 Unit Vehicles.jpg, Civil Defence Ireland K9 search units File:Dub Civil Defence Boat Crews.jpg, Dublin Civil Defence RHIB crews assisting at the Leinster Sea Swim File:Wicklow CD Incident Support Unit.jpg, Wicklow Civil Defence Incident Support Unit Vehicle File:Dub CD Excercise Dublin mountains.jpg, Search and Rescue exercise in the

Dublin Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...

References

Notes

External links

Civil Defence Ireland websiteDublin Civil Defence
{{Authority control Civil defense

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Fire and rescue services in the Republic of Ireland Emergency services in the Republic of Ireland Emergency medical services in the Republic of Ireland 1950 establishments in Ireland Organizations established in 1950 Roscrea Ambulance services in Ireland