Director-General of the General Directorate of Civil Defence (GDCD), Staff Brig Abdullah Mohamed al-Suwaidi, inaugurated the activities of GDCD’s awareness tent at Souq Waqif on Friday.

The initiative falls within the awareness activities being conducted for families and the public as part of the fourth Civil Defence Conference and Exhibition, which will start on November 11.

The inaugural function was attended by Brig Aman Saad al-Sulaiti, Assistant Director-General of GDCD; Brig Hamad Usman al-Duhaimi, Director of the Operations Department; Brig Jamal Jafar al-Ajami, Assistant Director of the Operations Department; Col Ibrahim Abdul Rahman al-Muftah, Director of the Prevention Department; Maj Husain Ibrahim al-Asmakh, Director of the Logistics Department; Maj Husain Aman al-Ali, Director of the Prevention Department; Maj Ahmad al-Abdullah, Assistant Director of the Logistics Department; as well as several officials and the public.

A number of families visited the 300sqm tent after the inauguration. The tent has been built as a model secure home and includes several rooms and a well-equipped kitchen. The awareness activities at the tent included a competition, wherein a group of people would enter the house and find flaws inside. Those who could find the flaws were given prizes.

The awareness tent also features simulation devices, where a burning house is displayed and the Civil Defence staff teach children how to fight fire using electronic simulation devices in order to train kids on the use of fire extinguishers.

The tent offers several games (such as snakes and ladders) that provide the participants - especially children - with awareness messages. There is also a maze game, where participants wearing the dress of Civil Defence characters Aman and Salama search for a doll inside the house to rescue it from a fire within a specified time. This game is intended to train people on evacuation. The other activities include applying henna and drawing on the face for children.

A pavilion has been set up for awareness lectures on a variety of subjects related to safety and first-aid. In addition, GDCD has provided several Civil Defence vehicles on the neighbouring ground, where a number awareness messages and films are being shown on big screens.