Designated fire watchers supplied by manpower contractors
They are often hired for a single package and must be able to do the job from the first shift, not learn it on site.
Course snapshot
CourseFire Watch Training
Duration1 Day
Course length1 day
FeeAsk our team for the current fee
CertificateiMost, not OPITO; ask for validity
Flight RUH to COKAbout 5 h 30 min, direct
Time differenceKochi is 2 h 30 min ahead
Why hot work in Riyadh needs a trained watch
Riyadh is the one place in the Kingdom where the building programme reaches nearly every trade at once. Riyadh has been awarded Expo 2030, the metro network is running and still being extended, and King Salman International Airport is planned around the existing King Khalid airport on a site of 57 square kilometres with six runways. Diriyah, a mixed-use heritage district on the north-western side of the city, is another large site. Each of these needs cutting, welding, grinding and brazing in structures that are part-clad, full of cable trays and stacked with insulation and packaging.
The pipeline is changing shape rather than disappearing. A July 2026 report based on MEED data says giga-project awards slowed in the first half of the year, and that spending is shifting towards delivering what is already under construction and towards deadline-bound work in Riyadh. That favours the phase of a project in which hot work is most mixed in with finished materials: services installation, steel completion, fit-out and commissioning. A watch posted at a ceiling void or a riser shaft is the control that matters most in that phase.
On rules, we should be exact. The Saudi Building Code includes a fire code, SBC 801, which a conformity-assessment list updated in March 2025 still names, but we have not found a published Saudi text that fixes the minutes a watch must remain after hot work finishes. For comparison, Abu Dhabi's hot work code asks for a continuous watch during the work and for at least an hour afterwards; that is not Saudi law, yet it is a sensible benchmark for a contractor drafting its own method statement. Summer work in the open is also restricted: a seasonal ban on work under direct sunlight between noon and 3 pm runs from mid-June to mid-September, so hot work moves to early morning, evening and night, when a watch is also hardest to keep alert. Your project permit and the owner's requirements decide what applies.
King Salman International Airport
Planned airport around King Khalid airport: 57 square kilometres, six runways and six passenger terminals.
Diriyah
Mixed-use heritage and cultural district being built on the north-western edge of Riyadh, with many contractors on site.
Saudi Building Code SBC 801
The Saudi fire code; its text and your project specification are where a contractor looks for fire-protection duties.
Seasonal midday work ban
Work under direct sunlight is stopped between noon and 3 pm from mid-June to mid-September, which shifts hot work into other hours.
Roles on Riyadh sites that need a trained watch
Welders' and fitters' foremen
They plan the hot work and name the person who stays, so they need to know what a trained watch can and cannot do.
Steel erection and MEP subcontractors
Cutting and brazing happen close to cable trays, ducts, insulation and sheeting that burn easily.
Fit-out and finishing crews
Hot work in part-finished buildings sits next to timber, adhesives, paint and packaging.
Site HSE officers and permit issuers
They check the watch arrangements before they sign, and decide when the area can be released.
Fire watch against fire fighting, extinguisher and fire warden courses
A fire watch has one task on one job: stay with the hot work, notice a spark or a smouldering patch, put out a small fire and raise the alarm. If your site needs extinguisher skills for all staff, take Basic Fire Fighting. If your concern is selecting and inspecting extinguishers across a block or a fleet, take Fire Extinguisher training. If someone is named in an evacuation plan to clear a floor and count people, take Fire Warden. Fire watch is the course for the person who is named on the hot work permit. Many contractors send the permit holder to the Permit to Work course in the same stay, so that each half of the job has a trained person.
Basic Fire Fighting Training →
You want every person on site to have the broad first-response course, not only those posted on hot work.
Fire Extinguisher Training →
Your task is choosing, using and inspecting extinguishers rather than watching a work area.
Fire Warden Training →
You are named in an evacuation plan and responsible for a floor or a muster point.
Permit to Work PTW System Training →
You sign for the hot work permits that name a watch.
The seven topics, set against a Riyadh construction package
Teaching is interactive classroom work with demonstrations, case studies and scenario exercises, followed by hands-on extinguisher practice. Delegates earn an iMost certificate after a written test, a demonstration and oral questions. It is not an OPITO course, and the fee and validity are quoted on request.
- 01
Introduction
The role and responsibilities of a fire watch and why a dedicated watch matters. The aim is to understand what it means to stay in position until the permit is closed.
- 02
Fire Science and Firefighting Tactics
The fire triangle, combustion, fire classes and extinguishing methods, applied to cable insulation, coatings, scaffold sheeting and packaging.
- 03
Fire Prevention and Risk Assessment
Spotting hazards around the work area and performing a fire risk assessment before hot work begins, including voids, openings and the floor below.
- 04
Fire Safety Equipment
Inspecting and using extinguishers, hose reels and fire blankets, and checking that the equipment on the permit is actually at the work area.
- 05
Emergency Procedures
Fire emergency plans and evacuation, so the watch knows when to stop fighting and start alerting, and how to give a clear location on a large site.
- 06
Legal Compliance
An overview of fire safety laws, codes and standards. Read it with your project specification and the owner's rules, which set the specific duties.
- 07
Practical Training
Hands-on exercises in extinguisher use and firefighting techniques under instructor supervision.
For contractors, subcontractors and HSE managers in Riyadh
Hot work is bought in bursts, so contractors usually need several trained watchers at once. This suits a one-day course sent as a group.
Standards that shape training in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Building Code, SBC 801 (fire code)The national fire code; ask your fire consultant and the project owner which parts apply to temporary works and hot work.
Project owner and main contractor HSE requirementsGiga-project owners and main contractors set their own permit rules, watch durations and competence lists, which bind subcontractors.
Civil Defense requirementsPremises hold Civil Defense safety licences, and Civil Defense advice and inspection apply on and off site; the building licence is separate from any person's training certificate.
Abu Dhabi CoP 28.0 Hot Work OperationsA foreign code, useful only as a benchmark: continuous fire watch during and at least an hour after the work.
What employers commonly ask for
| Course | Requirement note |
|---|---|
| Permit to Work PTW System Training | Supervisors and permit issuers often need documented permit competence as well. An iMost certificate may or may not satisfy a given project, so ask the main contractor. |
| Basic Fire Fighting Training | Often chosen for wider site teams; the watch course is narrower and is aimed at the person posted on hot work. |
| Basic First Aid Training | A reasonable companion for crews who work far from a site clinic. |
Planning a group booking
- Register the company at portal.imostacademy.in/register for team logins, group bookings, invoices and statements, and certificate and renewal tracking. Contract pricing applies once approved.
- The fee is not published, so ask our team for the current rate per delegate and any group arrangement before you assign names.
- Quotes are in rupees. Agree the invoice currency and the transfer route from Saudi Arabia with our team in writing before the first booking.
- You can raise a purchase order, and credit terms depend on a credit assessment.
- Send names with each person's role, so watchers, foremen and permit issuers can be placed in the same batch and share the practical sessions.
Operators and clients set their own requirements; confirm with your contract or HSE department.
From Riyadh to Njarakkal for a one-day course
King Khalid International Airport (RUH) has direct flights to Cochin International Airport (COK), listed at about five and a half hours. The campus on Vypin island is about 40 km from the Kochi airport by road, over the Goshree bridges.
RUH to COK
Flight-listing sites show direct services on this route. Timetables change by season, so confirm the current schedule with the airline.
Site or camp to King Khalid airport
Plan the transfer from your site or accommodation in advance, and book a departure that leaves margin for check-in.
Kochi airport to the campus
A prepaid taxi or app cab takes about an hour. A group landing together can share a vehicle.
Plan your visit from Riyadh
Planning around home leave
A one-day course can be placed at either end of a break in Kerala, which saves a separate trip. As a stand-alone visit, plan two to three days door to door. Kochi is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of Riyadh.
Visa and entry
An Indian passport needs no visa for India. Holders of other passports should look up the e-Visa category for their nationality on the official portal. Expatriate workers should also check with their sponsor that their residence permit and any exit permission cover the travel dates.
Costs and payment
Fees are quoted in Indian rupees per person. Ask our team how to pay from Saudi Arabia before you transfer, and keep the receipt for your company records.
Sizing the trip for a one-day course
- 1
List your watchers
Count the people posted on hot work by package and shift, and note who covers while others travel.
- 2
Ask for the fee and a batch
Write to info@imostacademy.in or WhatsApp +91 8075 787307 with headcount and a window. The fee is quoted on request.
- 3
Work around the Saudi weekend
Ask whether a batch can fall near your Friday and Saturday rest days, so that production is lost on as few site days as possible.
- 4
Book the flights
Fly in the evening before and out after the final session. Door to door, count two to three days.
- 5
Sit the day
Classroom, demonstrations and extinguisher practice, then the written test, demonstration and oral questions.
- 6
Return and post the watch
Give the certificate to your site safety adviser before the next hot work permit is issued, and record who is trained in the permit file.