Saudi Gazette The General Directorate of Civil Defense in Al-Ahsa region has sent recommendations to the General Directorate of Education to place the classrooms of first, second, and third graders and students with special needs on the ground floor in the Kingdom for both, boys and girls. These initiative was taken after the tragic fire in Jeddah's Barem Al-Watan school which injured many and took the lives of three heroic teachers. Upon implementation it can ensure the safety of the young students and those with disabilities for they will be near the exit and will facilitate their movement in case of emergencies would be easy as they tend to panic quickly. The President of the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Al-Ahsa, Colonel Muhammad Bin Yahya Al-Zahrani told Al-Watan that the Directorate has dispatched firefighters to supervise 102 fire drills and evacuation plans at boys' schools in Al-Ahsa during the first semester. They have also been in communication with 98 girls' schools that conducted evacuation plans in their schools and have successfully reported their progress. “The evacuation simulations conducted at the schools in the region were successful at completely vacating the school building in an average of two to three minutes, which is enough to ensure the safety of all students and teachers,” said Al-Zahrani. In addition, 32 safety training courses were given at several schools to teach school administrators and teachers basic safety rules. Trainees learned how to use fire extinguishers, how to provide first aid, and how to calmly and effectively cope with emergency situations. A controlled fire was lit at several schools and the teachers were responsible to use the fire extinguisher correctly to put out the fire. Al Zahrani further added,“Our strategy for the next semester is to target 814 boys' and girls' schools in all cities and villages of Al-Ahsa region to oversee fire drills and offer safety training. Hopefully, these education and training sessions may help save lives in the first few minutes of an accident or an emergency until the paramedics and fire fighters arrive. Some schools even organized field trips to the fire station to enlighten students and teachers about their functioning and what to do incase a fire breaks out. __
