Civil Defense inspectors have discovered serious safety violations at a number of public schools in the city. The inspections revealed many of the schools do not have concrete barriers on the roof and that students are in serious risk of falling. Sources said the so-called model schools are in violation of one of themost important safety requirements; in the event of a fire, students are sent to the roof so that Civil Defense helicopters can save them. Inspectors are now criticizing the Ministry of Education, the Department of School Buildings and educational project engineers for not showing engineering plans of the schools to the Civil Defense safety department. Students are in danger of falling as in the Bara'em Al-Watan fire when many students and teachers fell off top floors and the roof because of a lack of concrete structures, sources said. The report demands that the Ministry of Education erect safety barriers on the roofs, warning that gusts of wind from the propeller blades of rescue helicopter could blow students away. __
