Nada Al-Maddah Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – Ninety-four Haj accommodation facilities have been fined for violating safety requirements and their power has been cut off until they have resolved their shortcomings, according to Col. Khalaf Al-Matrafi, director of Makkah Civil Defense. He said: “Some facilities had fire alarms that did not work properly because they had not been maintained while other facilities did not have accommodation licenses. “Additionally, some of their emergency exits were blocked.” Inspectors are continuously paying visits to Haj accommodation facilities while safety assurance companies are also required by the Civil Defense to pay visits to these facilities on a monthly basis and ensure their compliance with safety standards. A detailed safety report is sent every month to the Civil Defense. “We're working on a project to link all Haj accommodation facilities with our emergency unit through systems that will help us detect any malfunction in fire alarm systems, smoke detectors, elevators and other measures in these facilities,” Al-Matrafi said.
