About the center

The goal of life safety education is to achieve a state of society in which ensuring compliance with safety measures is an internal need of every person and all necessary conditions have been created for its realization.

The process of teaching life safety to the population has its own peculiarities. The creation of complex innovative educational sites (centers) equipped with innovative hardware and software complexes and software that allows simulating various dangerous situations (accidents, emergencies, crimes, etc.) can be considered as an advanced example in this process. These educational sites (centers) allow students to develop sustainable skills of safe behavior (hazard identification and detection, safe evacuation methods, messaging, etc.) by repeatedly solving various game situations. Such centers are currently functioning in a number of countries (People’s Republic of China, South Korea, Republic of Belarus, etc.).

In Sweden, training for schoolchildren is compulsory and takes place in fire stations. The compulsory program includes formation of fire behavior skills, use of primary fire extinguishing means in case of burning people, furniture, etc.

General view of the training site in Sweden

In South Korea, training is conducted in specialized training centers. The building of the training center is a typical building and consists of 4 floors. Each floor includes a number of thematic areas designed for a certain age group. Children aged 3-8 years old are trained on the first floor, 8-12 years old on the second floor, 12-16 years old on the third floor and 16 years old and older on the fourth floor. This training is provided annually for all age groups.

Center of safety sites in South Korea

An interesting aspect is to teach adults how to use respiratory protection and first aid. At the same time, every adult can learn the techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition to centers of safety, animation materials are actively used, where skills of behavior in emergency situations are formed in a playful and humorous form.

In the People’s Republic of China, the Haidian Public Safety Museum was established in 2005 to educate the public. The museum has undergone three stages of renovation: in 2008, 2010 and 2014. The exhibition center covers an area of 10,300 m2.

Haidian Public Security Museum

• getting an idea of environmental safety;
• practicing the rules of evacuation from buildings and premises in various emergency situations (fire, earthquake, building collapse, etc.);
• getting an idea of fire hazards and consequences of fire in residential premises;
• acquiring skills of using primary fire extinguishing means (simulator of extinguishing a virtual fire with the help of a fire extinguisher-trainer);
• prevention of panic in case of fire in a subway train car and rules of evacuation from it;
• understanding the purpose of light signs for safe evacuation from buildings;
• practicing safe actions at work;
• practicing water rescue skills;
• practicing air defense actions to ensure public safety;
• practicing the model of safe behavior on the street;
• practicing actions when meeting strangers;
• prevention and control of infectious diseases.

It should be noted that the training is not conducted as part of organized groups, and museum visitors must master the training material on their own.

Formation of life safety culture in the population is one of the significant directions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus. The security situation in the country urgently requires the creation and development of modern forms of life safety education for the younger generation on the basis of an integrated approach. This approach will help to reduce the negative impact of the “human factor” on the life safety of an individual, society and the state from external and internal threats associated with various dangerous and emergency situations.

In accordance with the Program of Social and Economic Development of Belarus for 2016-2020, approved by Presidential Decree No. 466 of December 15, 2016, the state policy in the field of life safety is implemented, among other things, through the creation in the country of at least seven (in each region and the city of Minsk) regional educational centers focused on teaching children the basics of life safety and equipped with modern educational equipment and visual aids, simulators with the necessary equipment and training materials.

Construction of the center in Minsk started in November 2014. When building and equipping the expositions of the center, the best international experience, as well as the experience of creation and functioning of territorial centers of safety, was taken into account. There are no analogues of security centers in CIS and European countries.