Civil Defense teams here are positioned around the city in such a way that they are able to arrive at any location in no more than three minutes, according to Col. Ali Bin Atallah Al-Otaibi, Director of Madina Civil Defense. However, Al-Otaibi told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the department's teams can sometimes be late in arriving at the scene of an accident. “There can be delays if the person reporting the accident has given an inaccurate description of its location,” he said. “If, however, the description is clear, the team should arrive in only a few minutes,” he added. Al-Otaibi said that to ensure that Civil Defense teams are able to arrive quickly in any part of Madina, daily checks are made of streets in the city to determine if any have been closed for excavations or road repairs and alternative routes are arranged. “The teams are also given verbal and practical tests to make certain that they are familiar with all the roads in the city,” he added. Al-Otaibi said that sometimes people who are under pressure accuse the department of being late in arriving at the scene of a fire or accident. “People present at a fire, a drowning or car accident can be under intense pressure and feel that time has slowed down,” he said. “Seeing the fire spreading and fearing that it might harm someone or spread over a larger area can make the person involved feel that a second is a minute and a minute is an hour,” he explained. “It is natural for the friend or relative of a person who is trapped in a burning building or injured in a car accident to be under pressure. This is why they accuse the Civil Defense of being late,” he added. Regarding the use of fire-extinguishing equipment that the Civil Defense requires to be available in hotels, furnished apartments and residential buildings, Al-Otaibi said that his department conducts training courses for those who work in these places. “We also have free-of-charge training programs for the general public every Sunday and Tuesday,” he added. Al-Otaibi said that his department monitors the implementation of safety standards of buildings in four stages. First, the security and safety plans are sent to the department by the Madina Development Commission to be checked by officers before starting the excavation for the foundation of the building. Second, the department monitors the construction of buildings as a service to building owners to avoid mistakes. Third, after the building is constructed, a committee, headed by the Operations Division Director, tests all installed safety systems. Fourth, the department conducts two periodic inspections every month at the Central Zone to check on those employees in charge of safety systems and to determine if there are any difficulties that require maintenance. __
