MINA: The Civil Defense Operations Center is the place from where all Haj operations are carried out. The center gets and transmits every bit of information relating to developments at the holy sites, director of the center, Brig. Muhammad Al-Qarni, told Arab News yesterday.
“The cameras installed at several locations in the holy sites register the movement of the pilgrims and the situation there. The information is then passed on to the security forces and other personnel on the ground who do whatever necessary to deal with any situation. The men at the center are highly experienced people who know how to respond to emergency situations. In case of an emergency, the Civil Defense divisions on the ground are instructed to take immediate action,” Al-Qarni said.
The center’s role is paramount in preventing accidents particularly on the Jamrat Bridge when crowds become huge. The center is also in constant touch with firefighters informing them of any fire incident in any part of Mina.
The center also provides updated information to health officials and cleaning department personnel concerning matters related to them.
It provides the traffic police details about the pilgrims’ movement on various roads such as the Makkah-Madinah expressway and Makkah-Jeddah highway with the help of the reports received from Civil Defense helicopters.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive plan devised to deal with all possible contingencies on the Jamrat Bridge paid off as no incident was reported on the first day of stoning the devil yesterday.
“About 1,500 men specially trained to undertake rescue, first-aid and medical evacuation operations under any imaginable situation had been picked for the tasks on the Jamrat,” Commander of Civil Defense at Jamrat Bridge Col. Zuhair Seebaih told Arab News earlier.
The Jamrat area has been divided into several zones from a Civil Defense point of view, he said.
“The zones are Jamrat courtyard where pilgrims arrive and prepare for stoning ritual, three stoning areas on each level, entering zones from the eastern or Mina direction and from the western or Makkah direction and the upper-most zone,” Seebaih said.
The Civil Defense strategies for the area are divided into three categories — preventive, operational and emergency handling, the commanding officer said.
Since the end of the last Haj season, Civil Defense has been conducting workshops to discuss the strategies and how could they be implemented in the most effective manner. Experienced and trained personnel have been chosen for operations. They are also trained in rescue and first-aid operations and use of advanced equipments. Students from health institutes and other volunteers also help Civil Defense personnel in their tasks.
