General Directorate of Civil Defense

The General Directorate of Civil Defense, known as 'Civil Defense', is the entity responsible in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for managing and organizing the procedures and necessary actions to protect the population and properties from fire hazards, disasters, wars, and various accidents, providing relief to the affected, ensuring the safety of transportation and communications, maintaining operations in public facilities, and protecting national wealth resources in times of peace, war, and emergencies.

The beginnings of the Saudi Civil Defense date back to 1927, when the first firefighting brigade in the Kingdom was established, headquartered in Makkah al-Mukarramah. This brigade is considered the first nucleus for the establishment of the directorate. The firefighting brigade in Makkah al-Mukarramahjoined the General Security apparatus and was named the General Fire Department Presidency. In 1948, another firefighting brigade was established, based in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. This coincided with the establishment of two brigades in both the capital Riyadh and Jeddah.

In 1960, the presidency was transformed into the General Directorate of Firefighting, and it became independent from the Public Security to be affiliated with the Ministry of Interior. Five years later, specifically on July 22, 1965, a royal order was issued changing the name of the General Directorate of Firefighting to the General Directorate of Civil Defense.

The General Directorate of Civil Defense organizes its operations within a specific law known as the Civil Defense Law, issued by royal order on January 20, 1986.

In 2020, the total number of field operations conducted by the Civil Defense, including firefighting, rescue, ambulance services, and vehicle accidents, reached 109,719 operations, averaging three hundred operations per day.

The Civil Defense receives emergency reports at the number 998 in all provinces of the Kingdom, except for the Makkah al-Mukarramah and Riyadh Provinces, where reports are received through the Unified Security Operations Center at the number 911. This unified number was activated in these areas due to their significance and large area, in addition to the presence of the holy sites in Makkah al-Mukarramah, which millions of Muslims visit annually. The Civil Defense in the Makkah al-Mukarramah Province is the largest and receives the most reports among the Kingdom's regions, with about thirty-three thousand operations in 2020 alone, accounting for 30 percent of the total operations, according to the latest statistics issued by the General Directorate of Civil Defense.

The work of the General Directorate of Civil Defense during peacetime focuses on providing relief to those affected in emergencies, equipping volunteers, organizing rules and means of safety and industrial security, fighting and extinguishing fires, in addition to rescue and ambulance services. The mandates also include establishing operations rooms and civil defense centers, preparing and equipping civil defense formations, supplying them with the necessary equipment, and utilizing media resources to achieve objectives.

During wartime, the General Directorate of Civil Defense works on organizing rules and means for warning against dangers and air raids, protection from the effects of air raids and destructive weapons, and controlling lighting and traffic movement.

The Civil Defense Institute, affiliated with the directorate, offers numerous courses and training programs aimed at preparing, qualifying, and training personnel to carry out civil defense duties. The institute has twelve branches, distributed across different provinces of the Kingdom.