JEDDAH, 8 October — The Civil Defense Department in Jeddah has initiated a training program in first-aid and safety measures for the female staff of the Ministry of Education.
During the 10-day program, carried out in cooperation with the Women’s Welfare Society, the staff will be trained in evacuation of buildings and in handling fire extinguishers in a real life situation.
Officials at the Women’s welfare Society said cooperation between the society and Civil Defense was a very important step toward improving safety measures in buildings used by women, such as schools and wedding halls. The training would come in handy at home as well.
The program is part of measures taken by the Ministry of Education to ensure safety of girls schools after last year’s fire disaster at a girls school in Makkah. Lack of safety measures at the school was blamed for the disaster.
The ministry has since distributed new fire extinguishers to schools, besides ensuring fixed fire exits at school buildings.
Officials were also deployed to inspect the safety standards of each school building.
