Presentation.
Minutes:
Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Jon Charters advised that the Service expected thousands of Lancashire residents to travel for Hajj (an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia). Therefore, a unique safety-focused UK initiative had been developed by Faz Patel, Community Safety Advisor, together with colleagues and partners to support people to enjoy the experience and remain safe during and after their journey back home to Lancashire.
ACFO Charters introduced Mr Patel to share an overview of the ‘Safety During Hajj Campaign’. The campaign included a 45-minute presentation which added to religious and cultural information developed by scholars to integrate fire safety information and broader safety information such as what to prepare beforehand, health information and how to keep safe in unfamiliar surroundings amongst a huge volume of people in the locality.
Mr Patel advised that thousands of British Citizens (which pre-COVID was circa 25,000 people) would be travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and would be moving between various locations. Many would be travelling from Lancashire and the North West.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Lancashire Constabulary, Public Health Blackburn with Darwen Council, Lancashire County Council Public Health and the Lancashire Council of Mosques had been working together to produce information to help people from Lancashire make a safe Hajj. This was important because in 1997 over 300 people lost their lives and 1,290 were injured in a fire at Mina (the largest Tent City in the world). The fire was caused by exploding gas canisters of cooking gas and fanned by winds of nearly 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents.
He presented Members with details of the advice provided which included:
· Educating pilgrims on how to book a Hajj trip (using the official planning, booking and experience platform, Nusuk, ensuring the availability of necessary travel documents, medical and vaccination information);
· crime prevention at home before travelling and airport protocols / awareness;
· general safety during Hajj (keeping valuables safe, fire safety including fire escape plans and being mindful of thieves);
· keeping healthy (getting plenty of rest, protection from the sun, keeping hydrated, avoiding stress and heat, being calm and patient among the crowds and being careful to avoid any accidents);
· safety in Mina Tent City (included fire escapes, cooking areas and electrical safety);
· the need to follow instructions from Saudi Arabia Authorities and details of local emergency numbers.
Mr Patel advised that the presentation had been delivered to 12 places within Lancashire and 58 organisations across the western world with positive feedback received.
CC Shedwick advised that he had attended a Hajj Safety launch event on 2 June 2023 at the Jamia Masjid Ibrahim UK Islamic Mission in Burnley which was opened by Lord Wajid Khan (Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj and Umrah). He commended ACFO Charters, and Mr Patel for leading this initiative. The presentation delivered at the event was very informative and well received.
In response to a question from CC Yates, Mr Patel confirmed that the Saudi Arabia Government, Military and Civil Defense did make sure people were as safe as possible, however accidents did happen.
Cllr Z Khan advised that he had performed Hajj over 30 times and was attending again the following month as a volunteer. He was very proud of this initiative and that a lot of people had taken in the knowledge. He felt the official numbers of 2.5m pilgrims to be an underestimate and to look after so many people, moving from place to place was a big achievement. In response to a comment from Cllr Z Khan regarding communication problems across many languages, Mr Patel confirmed that there were 18 languages used with people signposted to sermons and there had been change which was supported by the ‘Saudi 2030 Vision’.
In response to a question from CC Singleton, Mr Patel advised that the Service was always happy to share good practice. On 2 June 2023, he had attended together with ACFO Charters Pendle Radio for a live show where people were able to dial in. There had been a lot of interest including from organisations with callers from across Europe (France, Belgium and Spain) and people who had arrived in Mecca.
Resolved: That the report be noted.