New bespoke Civil Defence Headquarters for Isle of Man

A new Headquarters for the Isle of Man Civil Defence has been officially opened by the Minister for Home Affairs, Bill Malarkey.

All of the defence vehicles, training facilities and equipment will now be under one roof in a new warehouse in Tromode.

In its 70th anniversary year, the Civil Defence have moved following the sale of the former Headquarters at Homefield Road in Douglas.

The Isle of Man Civil Defence forms part of the Island's emergency response team, most notably assisting with the flooding in Laxey in October.

The team is made up of volunteers who are trained first-aiders.

During their training, they prepare for scenarios including search-and-rescue and evacuating buildings.

Day-to-day duties include maintaining cordons around incident sites, delivering heavy equipment to front-line crews and providing respite to the emergency services.