Saudi Gazette The Ministry of Education cooperated with the Civil Defense Department in a number of cities and regions in the Kingdom to train at least one female teacher from each school in basic fire safety practices, rescuing, and evacuation procedures, in case of an emergency. So, that way there will be at least one woman who knows what to do and how to use a fire extinguisher in the time that elapses between the breaking out of the incident, calling the fire department, and the arrival of the fire fighters. Knowing what to do in these crucial minutes could save lives. Teachers have just completed a thorough fire safety course in Al-Taif and its neighboring regions. The course was offered by specialists responding to emergency situations and fires in schools, and was given via a two-way television connection in the auditorium of one of the larger schools in Al-Taif. Practical workshops were also held for attendees. Abdullah Al-Zahrani, director of Educational Media at the Taif Department of Education said, “The Taif Department of Education has trained more than 300 female teachers and school administrators in fire prevention, fire safety, calm evacuation, and the correct use of fire extinguishers. The second phase of our fire safety program is to train a larger number of female teachers in the region. We hope these programs will help ensure the safety of our society members both inside and outside the walls of the schools.” Many teachers admitted that they lack proper knowledge about fire safety, how to react if a fire broke out and how to provide basic first aid techniques. There is also a psychological reason which prevent women run from taking positive action during a fire or even while trying to put it out and that is due to intense and paralyzing fear of flames. Many tragedies in schools could be avoided if teachers were adequately trained in how to respond to fires and how to overcome their fears. Hanan Al-Shehri, a high school teacher in Al-Taif, told Al-Watan daily, “The routine fire drills that we rehearse in the school are not sufficient in teaching teachers what to do if a fire starts. It is merely a play or a show and it does not prepare us for a real life situation. Training courses conducted by the civil defense department are important because most teachers do not even know how to operate a fire extinguisher.” __
