The General Directorate of Civil Defense reviewed the draft regulation for organizing the responsibilities of specialists in safety, prevention and protection from fire in governmental and private entities, via the “Survey” platform.

In her project, she stressed that safety is not just a routine procedure, but one of the fundamental pillars for ensuring a safe working environment that protects lives and property, and enhances preparedness in the face of emergencies.

The regulation comes in light of the rapid developments in the work environments in Saudi Arabia and the diversity of activities and establishments, which necessitates the presence of specialized personnel in safety and fire protection work, who bear the responsibility of developing and implementing effective preventive measures, and ensuring immediate response around the clock in direct coordination with the Civil Defense.

The project included precise controls for governmental and private entities regarding the appointment or assignment of a competent safety officer, provided that the appointment is in accordance with the Saudi occupational classification guide.

Several requirements were specified for this specialist: that he must have specialized qualifications and training in the field of fire prevention and protection, be medically fit, possess high communication skills and the ability to use computers, as well as be competent in drafting the necessary technical reports and be fully dedicated to his tasks, without being assigned any other work that may hinder his performance. In the event that there is more than one building or site belonging to the entity, a safety officer must be appointed or assigned to each site.

One of the requirements is the appointment of a full-time safety officer if an automatic sprinkler system is available in the building, while an additional assignment is sufficient if this system is not available.

The regulation requires each entity to create a “safety record,” whether paper or electronic, in which all periodic inspection, maintenance, testing, and reporting activities and their dates are documented, and this record must always be available to civil defense inspectors.

The safety officer is allowed to inform the local civil defense department of the date of the inspections, in order to coordinate and allow the inspectors to attend during the inspections.

No one is exempt from legal accountability in the event of proven negligence or a defect in safety systems, whether he is an employee of the entity or a contractor from an external office, unless it is proven that he informed the competent higher authorities of the violations and took all available measures to address them.

The responsible official is accountable for the performance of his subordinates, and he must investigate any shortcomings and report them to higher authorities within the organization, while recording all of this in the approved safety log.

The regulations stipulate that evacuation and safety plans may not be adopted or implemented without obtaining the approval of the competent authorities, and that safety personnel must undergo annual refresher courses of no less than two weeks or 30 training hours. It is not required that the official’s daily work be interrupted while receiving training.

The regulations identified 11 basic tasks that fall under the responsibility of the safety officer, most notably: conducting daily inspection tours and examining all alarm and fire extinguishing systems and ensuring the safety of emergency exits, preparing periodic “semi-annual” reports to be submitted to the competent authorities, ensuring maintenance work for alarm and fire extinguishing systems and refilling fire extinguishers every six months, and monitoring safety requirements during construction or modification work inside the facility.

Among the tasks are ensuring that electricity and gas sources are shut off after work is completed, except in cases where it is necessary to continue operating them while ensuring preventive measures, implementing a clear emergency plan, forming an evacuation team according to the nature of the facility, carrying out practical evacuation scenarios periodically and recording them in the safety log, spreading awareness among workers and organizing educational programs and training seminars.

Evacuation of people with special needs

The regulation stressed that evacuation plans must include accurate maps identifying the locations of emergency exits, assembly points, fire truck routes, fire box locations, and alarm devices, while also specifying the tasks of each member of the safety team during the evacuation.

It also explained the procedures for rescuing people with special needs, the mechanism for reporting a fire, how to operate alarm and communication systems, and the responsibilities of medical and emergency response teams, in addition to procedures for monitoring the building after a fire and ensuring its safety.

The regulation indicated the need to prepare a comprehensive safety plan that includes identifying hazardous locations and those responsible for monitoring them, a mechanism for periodic inspection and ensuring the readiness of alarm and firefighting systems, a timetable for evacuation drills and fire scenarios, contact information for emergency and civil defense centers, periodic inspection reports, and shift schedules for officials.

Risk assessment from an engineering office

The regulations provided two main options for qualifying a safety officer: either passing an accredited training course in the field of fire prevention and protection, with a duration of no less than 4 weeks or 25 training hours, with practical experience of no less than 6 months, or that the applicant has actually practiced field work for a period of no less than 3 years. In both options, qualifications and experience must be proven to the competent authorities.

The project stressed that the appointment of a sufficient number of safety officers should be based on a comprehensive risk assessment prepared by licensed engineering firms.

The General Directorate of Civil Defense indicated the possibility of contracting with licensed engineering or technical offices to carry out the tasks of the safety officer, provided that these offices are enabled to conduct periodic and daily inspections of prevention systems and coordinate with the authorities responsible for maintenance, in accordance with the approved regulations and regulations.

It is also required that these offices be enabled to coordinate directly with the Civil Defense departments and centers in all matters related to their contracted work.