In a message marking National Firefighting and Safety Day, observed Sept. 29, Mohsen Paknejad stressed the role of human capital in sustaining the industry, according to the Shana news agency.

The day honors firefighters at the Abadan refinery and all oil industry workers killed in the line of duty, Paknejad said. He described them as men who stood on the front lines protecting facilities and serving the nation at critical moments in the country's history.

The oil industry has endured difficult days over the past year, he said. Workers stayed on the job around the clock while facilities were under threat, and some colleagues were killed in enemy attacks. They continued to supply the country's energy, he said, showing that the industry's stability depends above all on the capability and readiness of its people.

Paknejad said the crisis underscored the link between safety and resilience. Resilience begins with prevention and risk reduction, continues with coordination, preparedness and effective response during emergencies, and ends with a swift, safe return to stable operations, he said. Strengthening risk management, training workers, developing new equipment and technology, and improving operational readiness are strategic necessities for the industry, he said.

Because of their responsibility in managing emergencies, firefighters are a main pillar of that resilience chain, and their professional status, skills, knowledge and preparedness should be a priority, he said.

The industry's strategic role in energy supply, its wide geographic spread, its operational complexity and its inherent hazards make health, safety and environment management essential, Paknejad said. That requires making safety culture a shared responsibility, with managers and employees at every level seeing themselves as part of the risk management chain, he said.

"No achievement is more valuable than protecting human life, the environment, and national facilities and assets," he said.

Paknejad paid tribute to the oil industry's fallen, including firefighters, and thanked firefighters, health and safety workers, and their families for their service and patience.