There were no fire-related incidents at Arafat during the biggest ever gathering of Muslims thanks to the elaborate safety measures implemented by the forces.

As many as 31 Civil Defense units have swung into action to implement the forces’ emergency plan, according to their commander Brig. Gen. Abdullah Hassan Jadawi.

More than 2,000 officials and members of the Civil Defense took part in implementing the plan.

Speaking to Arab News, Jadawi said these units equipped with highly advanced machinery have been maintaining a constant vigil at various parts of the holy site since the arrival of pilgrims until their departure after sunset on Saturday.

“There has been complete coordination among various units and teams to ensure protection for civilians as well as their safety, in addition to implementing precautionary supervisory measures,” he said.

“In cooperation with the Ministry of Haj, we have also implemented a plan to face any emergency situations in case of rain and flooding as well as any accidents like fire,” he said, adding that forces dealing with safety and precautionary supervision were on duty around the clock to remove obstructions on the roads or passages to the tents that may hinder any rescue, fire-fighting or medical evacuation operations.

Jadawi said a new regulation to confront emergency situations has been implemented at Arafat during this year’s Haj. “This involves the participation of some 1,400 members of the precautionary supervision teams to operate the fire extinguishing network across the plains of Arafat after dividing the holy site into nine zones, which are further divided into small quarters. Each quarter is under the supervision of an officer. These units have easy access to any tents or areas under their jurisdiction to extinguish fires or undertake rescue operations,” he said, adding there were over 1,300 fire extinguishers at Arafat.