• All ministries, government agencies, entities with public legal personality, and private institutions designated by a decision of the Minister, based on Article Twenty-Five of the Lawof Civil Defense, shall be subject to the provisions of this Regulation.

• The terms used in this regulation shall mean the following:

  • 1- Safety Officer: A natural personality concerned with following up on the works and requirements of safety, prevention, and fire protection in the entities subject to the provisions of this regulation as defined herein.

  • 2- Regulation: Regulation of the responsibilities of the Safety Officer and Fire Protection in governmental and private entities.

  • 3- Entity: The entity subject to the provisions of this regulation from ministries, government agencies, public legal persons, and private institutions designated by a decision issued by the Minister, excluding establishments under the supervision of the Supreme Authority for Industrial Security.

  • 4- Competent Higher Authorities: The Board of Directors, the executive management, or their equivalents in the entities subject to the provisions of this regulation, or whoever holds the decision-making authority according to their regulations.

  • 5- Law: The Civil Defense Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/10) dated 10/5/1406 AH.

  • 6- Minister: Minister of Interior.

  • 7- Civil Defense Safety Inspector: The person or persons authorized by the General Directorate of Civil Defense or one of its branches.

  • 8- Ministry: Ministry of Interior.

  • 9- Competent Entity: The General Directorate of Civil Defense.

  • 10- Related Entities Relationship: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Social Insurance, Ministry of Finance, National Risks Council, and any other relevant entity.

  • 11- Engineering Office: Consulting engineering offices specialized in fire prevention and protection, licensed and accredited by the General Directorate of Civil Defense.

  • 12- Technical Office: Licensed offices practicing technical services activities for fire prevention and protection, licensed and accredited by the General Directorate of Civil Defense.

• Subject to the relevant laws and regulations, the entity shall appoint or assign a safety officer taking into account the following:

  • 1- Commitment to what is stated in the Saudi Occupational Classification Guide when hiring.

  • 2- To be medically fit.

  • 3- To be proficient in effective communication skills with the entity's officials and employees and capable of using computers and drafting and preparing the necessary reports.

  • 4- The appointed safety officer shall not be assigned other tasks that may prevent him from performing his duties.

  • 5- If the entity has more than one site or building, a safety officer must be appointed or assigned to carry out the tasks specified in this regulation for each site or building.

  • 6- A safety officer (full-time employee) shall be appointed if an automatic sprinkler system is available at the entity's site or building, and assignment (in addition to his job duties and not necessarily full-time) shall be made if this system is not available.

  • 7- The safety officer must have the necessary qualification and training in the field of safety, prevention, and fire protection as follows:

    • A) A course in the Saudi Building Code(SBC) (sbc201 and sbc801) from one of the Saudi training centers and institutes accredited by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, with a duration of no less than (25) training hours.

    • B) Fieldwork experience in the field of safety, prevention, and fire protection of no less than 3 years, with a certificate proving the experience that includes the job tasks and locations assigned during the period of work.

    • C) The conditions stated in (A) and (B) are exempted for anyone who obtains one of the professional specialized certificates from the following international organizations (NFPA, OSHA, NEBOSH).

In all cases, the entities must appoint a sufficient number of safety officers in accordance with the risk assessment prepared by an engineering office.

• The entity may contract with an engineering office or a specialist office to carry out the tasks and duties of the safety officer, provided that the following are ensured:

  • 1- That it is licensed and accredited by the competent authority.

  • 2- Enabling it to perform daily and periodic inspections of fire prevention and protection systems, and coordinating with the department responsible for maintenance and operation within the entity to implement all maintenance and operation requirements for all fire prevention and protection systems in accordance with the Civil Defense Law and all related technical, regulatory statutes, and decisions issued by the competent authority concerning fire prevention and protection works.

  • 3- Enabling it to coordinate directly with the Civil Defense departments and centers in the contracted works.

• The safety officer in the entity is obligated to keep an updated copy of the safety and fire protection plans prepared by an engineering office. Additionally, a register called (Entity Safety Register) shall be designated, either in paper or electronic form, in which all periodic inspections and maintenance operations of safety and fire-fighting devices and equipment are recorded, including the date of inspection, the entity conducting it, repair operations, and other data. All implemented emergency scenarios and training programs shall also be recorded. The register shall be kept within the entity to be available to the Civil Defense safety inspector at all times.

The safety officer in the entity may notify the Civil Defense Department or Center within its administrative boundaries of the date for conducting periodic inspections of fire prevention and protection systems to discuss the possibility of the Civil Defense safety inspector attending during the tests.

The safety officer shall not be exempt from legal accountability if a defect or violation is proven in the unpreparedness of safety, prevention, and fire protection systems resulting from negligence or intent, whether it is engineering-related, by a contracted technical office, or by the entity's personnel, unless he proves that he has informed the higher competent authorities of the entity of all violations and transgressions related to safety and fire protection works and that he has taken all available procedures to correct and avoid them.

The safety officer shall be responsible before the competent authority for the actions of those under his supervision and the manner in which they perform their work. He must, in all cases, verify any negligence or shortcoming in this regard, report the matter to the higher competent authorities within the entity, and document it in the safety record.

The entity must obtain the approval of the competent authority for the evacuation and safety plans prepared by it before their adoption and implementation.