Civil Defence Service

Part of the state series of articles

The Civil Defence Service (often just Civil Defence) is a constituent service of the Ministry of Defence that provides emergency management, disaster response and civil defence programmes in Vekllei. It is a heavily decentralised, volunteer organisation in the participatory tradition of its emergency services. Some of its functions, especially in cases of firefighting or disaster response, may have compulsory reservist programmes in some municipalities. In general, some degree of membership is common among Vekllei people who aren’t already committed to civic programmes or the military.

The Civil Defence Service is headquartered in Comet, the Vekllei capital, and has three general mandates established by the government:

• 🚨 Emergency Management: Regular firefighting, technical rescue and emergency medical services.
• ⚠️ Disaster Response: Natural disaster preparation and response, including hurricanes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
• ▲ Civil Defence: War preparation, air raid planning and protection, and civilian mobilisation for defence and survival purposes.

The service is organised in the same fashion as the Armed Forces, with municipal components (local brigades) incorporated into federalised regiments. Despite the diversity and local concern of its components, the service has a centralised command and large incidents invite a national response. It is not uncommon, for example, for volcanic eruptions to mobilise firefighters from all parts of the country.

Unlike military regiments, which are organised regionally, civil defence regiments are usually organised by function and may involve local components from all corners of the country. Components may also be organised into different regiments simultaneously where there is need or overlap. These functions include:

Services of Civil Defence

• Firefighting
• First Aid & Ambulances
• Flood & Storm Response
• Tidal Wave & Earthquake Response
• Volcanic Activity Response
• General Rescue
• Land/Marine Search & Rescue
• Vertical & Mine Rescue
• Road & Rail Disaster Response
• Swiftwater Rescue
• Recruitment & Training
• Air Observation & Reconnaissance
• Structural Impact Shoring
• Communications & Information Relay
• Crowd & Traffic Control
• Interservice Liaison
• Evacuation Management
• Press & Safety Education
• Survivor Welfare

Vekllei Firefighting and paramedic services are both provided by the Civil Defence Service. They are structured differently from specialised units and are typically municipalised and operate under different commands. There are over 5,600 fire brigades in the country, staffed mostly by volunteers. Ambulance services are jointly operated with the Health Parliament.