The International Day of Civil Defence is celebrated this Wednesday and the Municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão will mark the occasion during the whole month of March, with the passage of more than half a thousand students through the Campus of Civil Defence of Famalicão, located in the parish of Bairro.
The first action of the "Month of Civil Defence" took place this morning, with the visit of the town councillor for Civil Defence, Ricardo Mendes, and the students of the Bairro Social Centre to the Campus.
The initiative is promoted by the Municipal Civil Defence Service, is intended for pre-school and primary school students of the municipality and provides a set of activities aimed at raising awareness and promoting a culture of security and resilience, such as games, awareness-raising sessions on Basic Life Support, among other actions. Among the various moments planned is also a visit to the Campus by students of the Degree in Civil Defence and Territorial Management of the University of Minho.
The mayor of the municipality on social networks also marked the date. Mário Passos believes that Famalicão "cares for a strong and operational Civil Protection (...) with an institutional network of security and relief that gives us the best guarantees", remembering, however that "we are all Civil Defence".
It should be noted that the International Day of Civil Defence commemorates the establishment of the International Organization for Civil Protection. The aim of this celebration is to alert and raise awareness of the importance of Civil Defence in safeguarding human life, property, and cultural and environmental heritage, in the event of major accidents and disasters, and to pay tribute to all its agents.
It should be remembered that Famalicão has, since July 2022, a new Civil Protection Campus that includes a Municipal Civil Defence Centre, a Municipal Heliport and a National Civil Defence Logistical Support Base. It is located in the parish of Bairro, enjoying a privileged location for operations throughout the region. In terms of infrastructures, the Civil Defence Centre has the capacity to provide accommodation for around one hundred operatives to reinforce their resources. With an area of approximately 30 thousand m2, it has facilities such as a support building, a base for parking heavy vehicles, a heliport, a football field, a tennis court, changing rooms and a cafeteria.