Director general of Civil Defense Brig. Salim Mautrofi with SAudi Aramco officials at the launch of the national campaign for fire safety awareness in Jeddah on Wednesday. — Courtesy photo

 

Syeda Amtul

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Director general of Civil Defense Brig. Salim Mautrofi launched the Saudi Aramco’s national campaign for fire safety awareness here on Wednesday.



The nine days campaign was launched in the presence of the manger of fire prevention management at Saudi Aramco fire protection department, Ali Mukhtar, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, manager at Aramco; Abdullah Al-Issa, Saudi affairs manager in Jeddah, and a number of company and government officials.



The campaign started on March 2 in Dhahran, and this is the second phase of the drive and will run till March 25.



This campaign has been conceptualized in a shape of a maze, with fire safety issues shaped like a lock and the knowledge of fire safety prevention being the key to unlock it. The campaign is associated with Civil Defense day.



The 20 minutes maze journey is open for all age groups, while the exhibition also has a kids coloring section and a new technology fire robot.



These fire robots are for edutainment of people in six main stations inside the maze, two of them represent accidental fire tragedies. Fire fighting tips and preventative methods were displayed in the maze.



Brig. Mautrofi said: “This campaign touches reality as it is required, and this thing is expected from Saudi Aramco.”



He hoped the campaign would impact positively among all segments of society, and there is no doubt that all the risks mentioned in the maze exhibition are reality.



According to him the biggest problem in fire accidents is the time factor. Time is the common denominator for any single incident.



Briefing about fire accidents and the importance of safety requirements, he said: “I am proud personally, and also of my colleagues in the Civil Defense to participate and be involved with Aramco in this drive. It’s a very effective and great effort to serve the community and to contribute in spreading the safety awareness message.”



“Authorities do their part in raising awareness and also those in community such as family centers, neighborhoods and even mosques have a role in the propagation of a culture of safety. Religion urges us to practice safety, saying the Almighty has said ‘do not throw yourselves into destruction’ and Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) saying, ‘all of you sponsor and each of you is responsible for his flock,’” he added.



Schools and educational institutions, where teachers and members of the teaching staff have a leading role, too must participate in delivering the message of safety.



He stressed on the importance of providing safety requirements in homes like smoke detectors and fire extinguishers to reduce risks.



The exhibition and events continue for a week from five o'clock in the afternoon until the ten in the evening.