The Civil Aid Service (CAS) is a civil organisation that assists in a variety of auxiliary emergency roles, including search and rescue operations in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. CAS is funded by the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

and its members wear uniforms.

History

Formed in 1952 under the British colonial government of

(CAS Ordinance) and modelled after Civil Aid agencies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. As well, a youth section, CAS Cadet Corps, adds 3,232 volunteers to the regular 3,634 force. The concept was introduced during British rule, an organisation also found in Britain. A dedicated Civil Aid Service rescue training centre, with indoor and outdoor training areas, was opened by the governor on 15 November 1953 at Hawthorn Road, Happy Valley. The CAS used to be headquartered at Caroline Hill Road in

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...

. It moved to

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, Y ...

in 2006. The six-storey former CAS Headquarters is slated for demolition by the government.

Duties

The stated duties of the Service are: * to provide support to the government regular emergency forces on counter disaster activities, mountain search and rescue, flood rescue, countryside fire protection duties; * to provide crowd control and management services in major public functions; * to patrol country parks and hiking trails and to assist people in need of help; * to stage performances to enhance public attention on major campaigns or activities organised by government departments and non-government organisations; * to provide training activities and professional services on mountain safety/rescue for government departments and non-government organisations.

Organisation

CAS are headed by the Commissioner and CAS (Department) by Chief Staff Officer (also Deputy Commissioner).

Past commissioners

* Dr. Ernest Lee SW, SBS, PhD, JP * Dr. Norman Leung * The Hon Charles Edward Michael Terry (founding commissioner)

Rank

* Commissioner (Grade Senior VII Officer) * Deputy Commissioner - Operations, Administration (Grade VII Officer) * Senior Assistant Commissioner - Operations, Administration, Development & Youth (Grade VII Officer) * Regional (Hong Kong, Kowloon, New Territories) / Cadet Corps / Support Force Commander / Administration Force / Tactical Force (Grade VII Officer) * Deputy Regional / Cadet Corps / Support Force Commander (Grade SVI Officer) * Assistant Regional Commander / Principal Staff Officer (Grade VI Officer) * Company Commander / Senior Staff Officer (Grade SV Officer) * Deputy Company Commander / Staff Officer (Grade V Officer) * Platoon Commander / Assistant Staff Officer (Grade IV Officer) Rank Below IV are called "Other Rank Members" * Chief Section Leader (Grade Senior III) * Senior Section Leader (Grade Senior III) * Section Leader (Grade III) * Deputy Section Leader (Grade II) * Senior Member (Grade Senior I) * Member (Grade I) * Cadet / Senior Cadet / Deputy Cadet Leader / Cadet Leader / Senior Cadet Leader

Facilities

* Headquarters –

* Hong Kong Training Centre –

* Tai Tan Camp – Sai Kung * Yuen Tun Camp –

Sham Tseng Sham Tseng () is a coastal area in Tsuen Wan District, Hong Kong, between Ting Kau and Tsing Lung Tau. History At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Sham Tseng was 72. The number of males was 32. In 1982, the Government launch ...

Fleet

CAS Vehicles is managed by Transport Company. There are various types of vehicles in service for different uses including: * Motorcycle * Mobile Command Unit - Toyota Coaster 16 Seats * Mountain Rescue Vehicle * Emergency Lighting Vehicle * Mobile Canteen * Rescue Tender * Coaches -

Mitsubishi Rosa The Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa () is a Japanese minibus based on the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. The Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa was launched in 1960 and is now in its fifth generation, known as the BE7 ...

* Van, etc.

Mountain Search and Rescue Company

The Mountain Search and Rescue Company (民安隊山嶺搜救中隊) or CAS MSaR consists of two search and rescue teams specializing in mountain terrain within Hong Kong (mainly in the New Territories). MSaR team is made up of auxiliary members of CAS. Formed in 1967, it has a combined total of 246 members. MSaR works with Hong Kong Fire Services and Government Flying Service (air support) when deployed to incidents.

Crest

The current crest of the force was adopted in 1997 to replace most of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

colonial symbols: *

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the coronation crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13t ...

replace with the

Bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and ...

, Hong Kong's regional emblem * Crest's unilingual wording ''CAS Hong Kong'' replaced with the bilingual "香港 - 民安隊 Civil Aid Service - Hong Kong" Source

References

External links

CAS

Hong Kong Disciplined Services
{{Security Bureau (Hong Kong) Public health and safety in Hong Kong Emergency management in Hong Kong Safety organizations Rescue agencies Hong Kong Government