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Introduction
The “Municipal Empowerment and Resilience Project” (MERP) is a joint initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) and is funded by the European Union (EU) through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the “Madad Fund.” The project aims to strengthen the long-term resilience of subnational authorities in Lebanon as well as host communities, refugees and displaced persons affected by the Syrian Crisis (
As part of this process, the Urban Community Al-Fayhaa (UCF), composed of four municipalities (Tripoli, Al-Mina, Al-Beddaoui and Qalamoun) in North Lebanon, submitted a proposal that aims to improve the role and performance of its Fire Brigade Department (FBD). In specific, the project objectives are to: (1) equip the FBD with the needed vehicles and equipment to improve the response to fires in the four municipalities of the Union; (2) improve the working conditions in the fire brigade building by rehabilitating it; (3) empower the fire brigade staff with appropriate and advanced skills and capabilities that enable them to perform their tasks in a better and more effective manner in terms of first aid and advanced skills in response to fires and (4) improve public safety measures through inspection of buildings in the area (
Geographically, the UCF is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, with a total area of 33 km2 within the Northern Governorate of Lebanon. In addition to its Lebanese residents, the region is home to displaced Syrians and Palestinian refugees. Tripoli, the biggest among the four municipalities, is the second largest city in Lebanon and has an area of 20.394 km2. It is located 85 km north of Beirut and is the capital of the Northern Governorate. The city is rich in tourist sites and witnesses a great deal of religious tourism due to the presence of churches and mosques. Tripoli is also home to the second largest port in Lebanon, which fulfills the same duties as the Port of Beirut. Al-Mina is a city of 3.737 km2 and is located 5 km to the east of Tripoli. Al-Beddaoui...