Gyeonggi-do National Safety Experience Center Provides Customized Education by Disability Type

by Lee YeongKyu

Published 26 Apr.2023 07:26(KST)

Exterior view of Gyeonggi-do National Safety Experience Center

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters is launching tailored educational support for people with disabilities.

On the 26th, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced that starting from the 1st of next month, they will provide customized support based on disability types and operate dedicated education days for people with disabilities at the 'Gyeonggi-do National Safety Experience Center' located in Osan.

The Gyeonggi-do National Safety Experience Center, which opened in Osan in April last year, is the largest facility of its kind nationwide, consisting of one basement floor and one above-ground floor, with 9 zones and 53 experience programs. Since its opening, over 96,000 visitors have participated in the experiences.

The center will first produce safety education braille materials for visually impaired individuals and assign safety guardians to assist people with disabilities in preventing accidents within the center.

Additionally, sign language interpreters will be invited to assist hearing-impaired visitors, and separate education and experience programs will be prepared for people with disabilities. Inside the center, 10 standard wheelchairs will be available for visitors with mobility difficulties, and 10 electric wheelchairs will be added next year.

In particular, to prevent accidents involving people with disabilities by minimizing congestion, one day each quarter will be designated and operated as a dedicated education day for people with disabilities.

Jo Seon-ho, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "To guarantee the right to safety for people with disabilities and provide more equitable educational opportunities, we have implemented tailored support by disability type and dedicated education days at the safety experience center. Starting in May, we plan to invite students with disabilities from special schools in the Gyeonggi region to conduct safety education."

Meanwhile, as of 2021, the fire casualty rate among people with disabilities was 9.1 per 100,000 population, which is 2.2 times higher than that of non-disabled individuals.