Seminar about the State of Emergency at Beirut Arab University

The Faculty of Architecture - Design and Built Environment at Beirut Arab University – Tripoli branch organized an awareness seminar entitled: Emergency Response and Preparedness (ERP) in Buildings aimed at enhancing citizen awareness in case of any emergency in buildings and how to deal with these conditions and methods of evacuation.
At the beginning, Assistant Professor Yathreb Sabsaby explained the importance of developing contingency response plans by developing advance contingency planning and how to respond in case of any natural or man-made disaster. She also stressed the role of architecture in ensuring a safe and secure urban environment while respecting all climate, social and security variables which are recently known as the Flexible Architecture or Disaster Resilient Architecture.
The Director of the Faculty, Professor Ayman Afifi, stressed the importance of community interaction and engagement with the competent authorities to reach out to practical ideas and solutions for public safety in the field of architecture, and the development and advancement of communities. He also noted that emergency response is one of the main pillars of the Faculty of Architecture, which in line with the international accreditation of its educational programs from the British Accreditation Council RIBA.
The Director of BAU Tripoli Branch, Dr. Hani Shaarani, then delivered a speech in which he emphasized the role of the University in searching for new subjects that cope with developments and changes at the national level. Therefore, the seminar was to present and define the meaning of the disaster response plan and its strategies, and the actions needed to reduce potential risks at the local or national levels (such as earthquakes, fires and wars).
The Director of Al Fayhaa Union of Municipalities Engineer Dima Al-Homsi, representing the President of the Union, Hassan Ghamraoui, then noted the MERP project about developing the Union’s fire brigade that was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities as a joint initiative of UNDP and UN-Habitat, funded by the European Union.
Then, the Secretary of Governor, Chargé d 'affaires, Iman El Rafei talked about the role of local authorities in enhancing the city's resilience. She added that resilient cities improve the level of disaster preparedness, especially in increasing infrastructure capacity and permanent maintenance, to reduce risks from hazards, especially climate change and its impacts.
The expert in firefighting at the Directorate General of Civil Defense and Public Safety Advisor, Mr. Ali Moussa, talked in the lecture about “Fire-fighting methods at universities and evacuation strategies.”
Then, the President of Public Safety Committee at the Federation of Arab Engineers, Engineer Ali Hennaoui, talked about “The explanation of implementing the Public Safety Decree in the Lebanese Construction Law.”