![The writer is the Media Coordinator of Rescue 1122 in Rawalpindi.](https://dailythepatriot.com/wp-content/uploads/Farooq-Butt-249x300.jpg)
By Farooq Zahid Butt
WHOVEVER SAVED ONE LIFE IS LIKE HE HAS SAVED THE LIFE OF WHOLE OF HUMANKIND (AL-QURAN, CH-5, V-32).
Islam is a religion of peace and teaches its followers to not only protect their lives but also the lives of the others. Allah says in Quran CH-5, V-32 “whoever saved one life is like He has saved the lives of whole humankind.” But unfortunately the lesson of safety and peace taught by our religion is not practiced by us. Ignoring safety in our lives is a basic cause that our societies are not safe for us and the people we love most. In third world countries like Pakistan, safety is considered as an only duty of few in country. The modern world has adopted safety as a culture, where every intellectual of the society plays his role for safer communities. To make our societies safe and healthy for us and the people around us we have to play our parts. Every person in the society has to be aware of the happenings around us especially in the present situation when we are facing international terrorism in our country. Safety is a process of continuous thinking and planning where every member of society has to be vigilant. When we avoid safety in our lives sad incidents happen around us like tragic road traffic accidents, fire & drowning cases frequently occur and the society as a whole remains unsafe.
It’s the need of time that we adopt safety culture on an individual level. Every single one of us has to be vigilant and play our role in developing a safe and sound community. By bringing small changes to our life styles we can develop an exemplary society. Little steps like wearing a helmet while riding a bike, prohibit underage children to ride bike, following the traffic rules and regulations, by driving carefully and avoiding high speed or rush driving we can bring a very big change to our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Every educated person of the community has to be aware of the basic life support and first aid. In case of any untoward incident such as a road traffic accident if someone is not trained on basic life support and first aid he should never try to provide basic life support to an injured or an unconscious victim. Trying to provide basic life support to victims of accidents when we are unaware of the basic skills we may aggravate the sufferings of the victims or even fatality may happen.
In case of any road traffic accident do not ask a victim to stand up or walk. Do not induce water to unconscious or severely injured patient because if we induce water to unconscious victim water may go into his lungs and cause severe complications and difficulty in breathing which may result into a sudden death. In that particular situation please inform immediately to Rescue 1122 and if you are not trained to handle that kind of emergency situation then please don’t do anything and wait for the trained professionals of Rescue 1122.
Don’t install any sort of poor quality electrical equipments in buildings because one of the common reasons of catching fire in buildings and houses is short circuit which happens due to installation of poor quality electrical equipments. Always shut off all kind of gas running equipments before going to bed and keep at least one fire extinguisher at home. Install fire alarm system and fire extinguishers in business centers, in case of catching fire in buildings or houses the fire alarm system informs you at the very initial stage, because fire brigade comes with an average delay of 07 Minutes hence using the fire extinguishers can save your precious lives and property and helps to bring the fire under control at the very initial stage.
If you don’t know how to swim then don’t embark on boat or going into the water without putting on a life jacket. It has been noticed that when a person is being drowned, his / her family members, even they can’t swim at all, one after the other jump into the water to help him / her and all the members of a family go into the jaws of death. When someone is being drowned then at that time immediately inform to the emergency service or use life buoy (a tube which prevents from drowning) or use a twig of any tree to pull him out of water and if you don’t know swimming then avoid going into the water to help the drowning one, because at that time only one member of your family is in trouble and if you don’t show patience and presence of mind then God Forbid you could lose your loved ones more than one.
Rescue 1122 has acted on 3426413 emergency calls in time and has provided relief in a professional way to 4022187 victims of road traffic accidents, 1630532 victims in medical emergencies, 75796 victims of fire incidents, 6188 victims to demolished buildings, 131263 victims of crimes, 7205 victims of drowning, 1200 victims of bomb blast and 293050 victims of other emergencies and has become instrumental in preventing 4 million people who where going into the jaws of death in different emergencies. I salute those mothers whose sons don’t care about any kind of dangerous situations like strong thunderstorms, flood or deadly earthquakes and they work devotedly in life threatening situations to secure the lives and assets of the people of their beloved country. These guys are very valuable because instead of destroying their youth in racing or one wheeling on roads they are spending their lives and skills in securing the lives and assets of the people of their sacred motherland.