A new concept in the delivery of safety and lifeskills messages could be on its way to Northern Ireland.

RADAR (Risk Avoidance & Danger Awareness Resource), which is to be located in the Greater Belfast area, will provide a broad range of highly interactive safety focused educational experiences to young people from schools and youth groups from across Northern Ireland.

Representatives from a number of Northern Ireland government departments, private sector service providers and voluntary sector organisations have formed the Northern Ireland Safety & Lifeskills Education Centre (NISLEC) Partnership, to develop this innovative approach to improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people across Northern Ireland.

The RADAR facility will feature a series of lifelike, interactive installations that will illustrate dangerous situations and scenarios within a controlled and risk free environment, giving participants the opportunity to learn how to prevent, avoid or manage everyday hazards safely.

Speaking about the Project at the start of Road Safety week, Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable, Matt Baggott said: “The Police Service of Northern Ireland is pleased to support this latest safety initiative aimed at reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries across Northern Ireland, irrespective of the cause.

“Figures indicate that there were around 731,000 attendances at Accident and Emergency facilities in Northern Ireland last year. Many of these were as the result of avoidable or preventable incidents, costing the health service an estimated  £435 million.  During the same period, 1,666 children (5-15yr olds)  were admitted to hospital in Northern Ireland as the result of an accident in the home, costing the Health Service approx £3.8 million.

“In partnership with Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Department of the Environment and other key government departments, the PSNI have taken a lead position in driving this very worthwhile project forward.”

Peter Craig, Chief Fire Officer, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) added his support to the project saying: “Early intervention and education about safety issues will help the younger generation make smarter choices to keep them safe.  In NIFRS we have a number of successful initiatives working with children and young people to educate them about the dangers of fire, road traffic collisions and other types of rescue situations and we know that the lessons young people learn early in life stay with them into adulthood.

“A dedicated Safety Centre that all the Emergency Services can use will enable us to deliver valuable safety messages in a shared venue for the benefit of our community.”

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Chief Executive Liam Mc Ivor added his support for the initiative, saying: “Much of the operational activity of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS)  involves responding to emergency calls following incidents that could have been avoided had dangers been recognized at an earlier stage.

“NIAS welcomes any initiative aimed at improving the skills of hazard recognition among the young people within our community.
Illustrating, in a safe environment, these dangers, and their potential outcomes, will, we believe, bring about a reduction in the number of incidents involving young people and improve overall safety within the community.”

For more information on the RADAR Centre, contact the Northern Ireland Safety & Lifeskills Education Centre (NISLEC) Partnership on 02890 901013

From Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service