A project is under way to set up a single control room in Makkah to handle all emergency calls from across the Kingdom. The control room staff will be trained to receive reports in 10 languages, according to sources. The Makkah operations center would be able to receive calls for medical assistance from other operation rooms and from residents who do not speak Arabic. Meanwhile, the Civil Defense Forces deployed 31 teams to cover all parts of Arafat to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims. Brig. Abdullah Hassan Jiddawi, Commander of the Civil Defense in Arafat, announced that his staff was ready to handle any emergency as pilgrims travel to Arafat, Muzdalifa and then Mina to stone the Jamarat. He said the firefighting team, considered to be the largest in the world, was on full alert. Jiddawi said there was complete coordination between all safety and security teams and agencies in Arafat and the other holy sites to handle firefighting, rescue, first aid and medical evacuation efforts. Jiddawi said 1,400 personnel from the preventive supervision teams joined the Civil Defense's firefighting teams in Arafat. Arafat was divided into nine zones, further subdivided into small squares which are supervised by various trained officers. There were 2,000 Civil Defense officers and privates on duty in Arafat. He said all measures were in place to handle heavy rain. Special rescue units were stationed in potentially vulnerable and low-lying areas. This was done in cooperation with the Ministry of Haj and the Frontier Guard. There were 1,300 sources of water for the firefighting teams in Arafat, he added. __
