Staff Correspondent 

The Fire Service and Civil Defense has established itself as a trusted and reliable institution as the first responder in any disaster and emergency situation, said the Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense Directorate, Brigadier General Mohammad Zahed Kamal, NDC, AFWC, PSC. He said this in his speech as the chief guest at the International Firefighters Day—2025 celebration event held at the headquarters of the institution at 9:30 am on Sunday.  In the event, 45 officers and firefighters of various ranks selected from across the country were honoured. The event was attended by Director (Administration & Finance)  Mohammad Mozammel Haque, Director (Ops & Maintenance) Lt. Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, Director (Training, Inspection & Dev ) Lt. Colonel M A Azad Anwar, deputy directors, and officers and employees of various ranks.At 09:30 AM , when the chief guest arrived at the venue, the event began with an opening speech. The opening speech was delivered by the institution’s Director (Ops & Maintenance) Lt. Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury. After that, a one-minute silence was observed in memory of all firefighters around the world who were killed during operational duties.After the opening speech, 45 officers and firefighters of various ranks selected from across the country for their proficiency and bravery in firefighting and rescue work were awarded honors. Each recipient was given a certificate, an honorary crest, and cash as awards. Among the awardees, Inspector Md. Mozammel Haque from Thakurgaon district expressed his heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Director General for awarding such honors for the first time on the initiative of the Fire Service. Among all the officers, the principal of the training complex Mr. Md. Ohidul Islam delivered  speech. Then the chief guest began his speech by remembering all the firefighters around the world who died in operational duties. Especially in Bangladesh, he paid deep respect to the 13 martyrs of the BM Container Depot incident and the total 48 firefighters killed in operational work in the fire service.He prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured in those incidents. He then described all the development initiatives and activities undertaken since joining the fire service. Congratulating the awardees, the Director General said, “You enter burning buildings, rush to road and waterway accidents; you search for signs of life under the rubble. And through this, you have earned everyone’s trust and love. On the occasion of International Firefighters Day, we are recognizing your sacrifice and contribution. This recognition will continue in the future, Inshallah.”Brigadier General Mohammad Zahed Kamal urged everyone to continue the existing trend of success and said, “Our firefighters are making important contributions in all types of operations. With everyone’s joint efforts, we hope to successfully deal with any disaster and crisis in the future. Your wisdom, skills, and love for humanity have made every operational task of this directorate successful. I hope this trend will continue in the future as well.”Finally, Director (Admin & Finance) Mr. Md. Mozammel Haque gave the concluding speech. He expressed the opinion that this recognition will inspire the morale of all firefighters and help accelerate operational work further. The event ended with light refreshments. Notably, all officers from across the country joined the event online. After the noon prayer, a prayer ceremony was held in all mosques of the fire service for the deceased firefighters. This year, for the first time, International Firefighters Day was officially celebrated on a small scale in Bangladesh.