JEDDAH, 24 November — Civil defense officials are geared up to deal with an increase in the number of accidents during the month of Ramadan.
Col. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, director of civil defense in Jeddah, said the department’s control room is functioning on a round-the-clock basis and is receiving calls to fight fires, rescue people from accidents, and assist in first-aid and emergency operations, in addition to inquiries about safety measures to be taken by establishments. The calls increase dramatically during the hours between the afternoon-prayer and the sunset prayer, and after 9 p.m. when people start going out after the taraweeh prayer (special night prayer in Ramadan).
The civil defense officials also receive false-alarms, Al-Ghamdi said.
"However, they are few in number and normally identified without much difficulty — mostly with the aid of the caller-id device at the control room. Experienced staff can easily distinguish between genuine and false calls," the director said.
He said added that officials are given intensive training to cope with situations such as fire-fighting and rescue operations. They advise the callers not to panic and instruct them on the emergency steps to be taken before the rescuers arrive.
The performance of each official is evaluated from different angles, such as the method and quickness of his response to a situation. The team should reach any spot in the city within ten minutes of receiving a request for help.
