Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/584253
14 IT is perhaps an unpleasant reality, but in the aftermath of accidents such as the one at last Sunday's 'Paqpaqli Ghall-Istrina', talk will inevitably turn to the question of responsibility and accountability. A total of 26 spectators were in- jured at Sunday's motoring display – some grievously – when a 'super- car' spun out of control and crashed through the metal barricades and into the crowd. The incident is now the subject of a magisterial inquiry, but already there are indications that culpability may prove difficult to pinpoint… not least, because the event in question was organised un- der the auspices of the Office of the President of the Republic. Apart from the legal minefield this entails, there is also the issue of responsibility for safety standards at a licensed public event. After the crash, John Rizzo – formerly Police Commissioner, but since 2013 the director of Malta's Civil Protection Department (CPD) – told the press that safety precautions did not fall within the CPD's department. The police issued a similar statement, as did the proprietors of the venue, Malta International Airport. This leaves the question unan- swered… so I thought I'd raise it as the opener for this interview. Rizzo has already painstakingly explained over the telephone that he cannot comment specifically about Sun- day's crash because of the ongoing inquiry. So let's keep it general in- stead. Under normal circumstances, how does the chain of responsibil- ity for ensuring adequate safety standards work? Who is ultimately responsible: the organisers, the au- thority which issued the permit... or someone else altogether? "Generally speaking, it is the en- tity that licensed the event that is responsible for the safety condi- tions," he begins. "But here I must clarify a misconception about our role. The CPD doesn't issue li- cences or permits. Not just for last Sunday's event, but for any event of any kind." Unlike other departments, he ex- plains, Civil Protection has no ex- ecutive powers. "Very often we are consulted, but all we can do is offer advice. When it comes to crowd events, we are often approached with requests for support: to be present on site with fire trucks, for instance; to be prepared for any eventuality so that if something does happen, we would be in a po- sition to intervene immediately. That is more or less the extent of our role." To give an example of crowd events, Rizzo reminds that the night before the accident Notte Bianca took place in Valletta. "We spent the whole night there, in various parts of Valletta. We had a control room there, too. And this weekend there is another event: the Mdina Classic Car grand Prix. We've been asked to provide fire engines, so that we'd be in a position to respond rapidly if anything happens… as, unfortu- nately, happened last Sunday…" The presence of the CPD at Notte Bianca was indeed very visible, as I can confirm myself. But is this form of safety precaution actually man- dated by law… or does it depend on an optional request by the event organisers? "You have to distinguish between official government events, and pri- vately organised ones. In the case of Sunday's Grand Prix in Mdina, we were invited – if you like – to be present, against payment by the organisers." The same goes for government events, he adds, with the difference that government always consults CPD as a matter of policy. It seems, then, that no direct legal obligation exists to provide safety precautions. Rizzo nods, but quick- ly adds that the licensing body does have the responsibility to ensure adequate safety levels. "The authority that issues the permit, rightly so, has the executive power to demand safety precau- tions. Now: I think that – but this is something for the authorities concerned to look into – even if the authority doesn't understand safety issues itself, it should always ask for advice… and also for certificates from architects, safety certificates from engineers, and so on. And this does happen, all the time. But I must stress that I am talking gener- ally here, about the role of the CPD in such emergencies…" Moving on from legal considera- tions, there is also the question of logistics. Here, Sunday's crash may be seen to have a silver lining: if safety standards were lax from an organisational point of view, the actual life-saving response – both in the immediate aftermath, and also at hospital afterwards – was prompt and efficient. But this raises the issue of wheth- er Malta's civil protection capabil- ity is sufficient for larger, full-scale disaster scenarios. Earthquakes and tsunamis automatically spring to mind, although – as Rizzo hinted earlier – it could also be just a case of multiple accidents happening in different places, overstretching the CPD's resources. After all, its remit does not cover only public festivities, but also daily interventions such as rapid response to accidents, firefighting and so on. Add to this a calendar of organised events that just seems to keep get- ting busier – not to mention one- off events such as CHOGM – and it becomes debatable whether the CPD can actually stretch far enough to cover all eventualities. How many people are employed with the CPD, exactly? "At present, 170, on an opera- tional basis. But they are divided into three shifts, so at any one time we'll have just over 50 officials in the field. And we have five stations in Malta and Gozo, manned 24 hours a day. Bear in mind we have the responsibility and duty to pro- vide rescue services in all situations that may arise. That includes road accidents, grass fires that break out in summer… So it's important not to drain the department's resourc- es…" Are the present resources suf- ficient to cover these responsibili- ties? Rizzo pauses before answering. "I believe there is need for another fire station in the centre of the island. That's where the population den- sity is the highest: you have large towns like Birkirkara, Qormi, Santa Venera, Sliema, St Julian's, Gzira… There is also the highest density of hotels and places of the entertain- ment, and these places are more vulnerable to accidents because they rely on things like high volt- age lighting, to give an example. Or gas, among other known causes of accidents. We also know that soon there will be high-rise buildings, too. These will present new chal- lenges." As things stand, Rizzo admits more resources are needed. "I be- lieve that the response time we achieve at present, with the cur- rent resources, needs to be drasti- cally reduced. You will surely agree with me that every minute makes a critical difference, especially when dealing with fire." For this reason, he adds that the new station is a top priority for the department. Has the matter been discussed with the authorities? "Yes: I've already discussed the matter with the finance ministry, obviously, so that the financial means can be provided. They have agreed with the idea, and in fact we've already identified a place in Cannon Street, Santa Venera – very close to the main bypasses – from where we could reach these places within minutes. The application to MEPA has already been submit- ted." He points towards a pile of papers on the desk. "Those are the plans. We hope it will be ready in two years' time..." What about human resources? Are the 170 personnel sufficient for today's exigencies… and, more pertinently, for the exigencies that may arise in future? Rizzo has al- ready alluded to the imminence of high-rise, with all its logistical chal- lenges. "I can only talk about my own tenure, and I haven't been here very long; it's been two and a half years. But the first thing I did when I got here was to take stock of the department's resources. Personally, I felt that – to give a better service, and to improve the response time – a radical change was needed. We needed more human resources: and, thank God, we have recruited 42 new members in the last two years, plus another 14 ex-Enemalta employees. That was an increase of around half the human resources we had two years ago." Apart from assistant rescue of- ficers, Rizzo's early assessment concluded that there was a short- age also in the administration de- partment. "We now have specific managers for particular areas: for processing MEPA requests for as- sistance … for private homes, and other specific operational areas; we have a manager for USAR (Urban Search and Rescue)… the depart- ment is growing. Today, I feel we're in a better position than we were before. But I'm not saying this is enough." Equipment was another area that needed urgent attention. "This year we have invested in protective clothing for all our members. Fire- suits alone cost the department around €100,000… not counting the fire helmets, fire boots, and other vital equipment necessary for firefighting." Speaking of costs – and given that Budget 2016 is next week – what sort of allocation is Rizzo expecting for the CPD? "Let's just say that I've made my requests, and they are realistic re- quests based on the actual require- ments of the department. To give one example: among the resources I felt we needed to change was Malta's entire fleet of fire engines. We are talking about roughly 45 vehicles, and to put you in the pic- ture: the smallest fire engine you'll find on the market costs around €130,000. Large fire engines, of the kind one would expect a national civil protection department to have, are around half a million euros. So we're looking at a capital expendi- ture of eight to nine million, just for fire-engines…" He smiles. "You might be think- ing, look how I've panicked the government! But they understood. At present the country has a fleet which was obtained through the Italian protocol in 1998: which means they have been on the road Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2015 When disaster strikes… I believe that the response time we achieve at present, with the current resources, needs to be drastically reduced. You will surely agree with me that every minute makes a critical difference RAPID RESPONSE There is need for a post- mortem… which is in fact happening, in the form of an inquiry… and if it is determined that a review of procedure is necessary, then so be it POST-MORTEM