Safety Centre
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Safety Centre (Hazard Alley) Ltd is a purpose-built interactive safety centre in Milton Keynes, opened in 1994. Primarily it provides safety education to visiting schools and youth groups via its full-size interactive demonstrations, known as Hazard Alley. It also provides a wider community service through adult courses in
first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
and fire safety, as well as providing follow-up lessons to schools through its in-house teaching staff. It is a registered charity based in an industrial unit in Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes.


Hazard Alley

Most of the unit's floorspace is occupied by Hazard Alley, a full-sized interactive "set" where several safety scenarios are simulated. It consists of two streets, a lake area and a farm (all inside), on which there are twelve scenarios in total. Each scenario is visited in turn by the groups, led by a volunteer guide. Groups spend ten minutes on each scenario, making the average session two hours long. Groups typically contain six children, who are accompanied by one of the centre's guides. School age children are usually year three (age 7-8) and year six (age 10-11), but can vary anywhere between years two and seven. A session is called a "tour", throughout which there will be three opportunities for each member of the group (in pairs) to attempt a simulated
999 call 999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for urgent assistance. Countries and territories using the number include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Eswatini, Gha ...
. This is designed to build their confidence should a real emergency ever present itself. The scenarios are as follows: Number 2, Brooks Street - A fire simulation. Children discuss the importance of smoke alarms, and what to do in case of fire. Two children attempt a 999 call (one of them was Luke Lasenby eferences available on requests. Number 4, Brooks Street - A demonstration of dangers within the home, particularly dangers posed to young children such as lit cigarettes and alcohol. Contains a living room area and a kitchen area. Number 8, Brooks Street - A "cinema". Schools are given the option of two interactive videos: a film portraying the consequences of
vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term ...
, or an interactive quiz about
internet safety Internet safety or online safety or cyber safety and E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user's awareness of personal safety and security risks to private information and property associated with using the i ...
, particularly in
chat room The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
s. Building site - Children are invited to identify ten significant dangers found on building sites, as well as discussing measures that can be put in place to reduce danger. A "burning car" demonstration reiterates the fire safety message, and two children make a 999 call. Road safety - Children are shown a demonstration of stopping distances, and attempt to cross the "road" using a full-size
pelican crossing A pelican crossing, or archaically pelicon crossing (PEdestrian LIght CONtrolled), is a type of pedestrian crossing with traffic signals for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic, activated by call buttons for pedestrians, with the walk signal ...
. The importance of
high-visibility clothing High-visibility clothing, sometimes shortened to hi vis or hi viz, is any clothing worn that is highly luminescent in its natural matt property or a color that is easily discernible from any background. It is most commonly worn on the torso and ...
and
bicycle helmet A bicycle helmet is a type of helmet designed to attenuate impacts to the head of a cyclist in falls while minimizing side effects such as interference with peripheral vision. There is ongoing scientific research into the degree of protection ...
s is demonstrated. Railway - A full-scale
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
simulation indicates the dangers of
trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, woundi ...
ing on railway lines. There is also an in-depth discussion of the dangers of
high voltage cable A high-voltage cable (HV cable) is a cable used for electric power transmission at high voltage. A cable includes a conductor and insulation. Cables are considered to be fully insulated. This means that they have a fully rated insulation system t ...
s and electrified tracks. Garage - Children cross from the railway to a
filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Ga ...
forecourt using a
zebra crossing A zebra crossing (British English) or a marked crosswalk (American English) is a pedestrian crossing marked with white stripes (zebra markings). Normally, pedestrians are afforded precedence over vehicular traffic, although the significance of ...
, discussing hazards posed by large HGVs. On the forecourt the group explores safe storage of
petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
, use of high pressure air lines, airbags, booster seats, seat belts and the dangers of smoking or using
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
s in a petrol station. Key messages are summarised by a short interactive quiz which uses handsets to allow children to answer the questions. Dark alley - The group investigates an alleyway and its dangers, such as
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups ...
, abandoned syringes, and strangers. "Early warning signs", physical reactions to fear such as jumping or sweating, are also physically demonstrated. Water - Groups visit a lake (loosely modelled on nearby Willen Lake), encountering a person who has fallen into the water - prompting the remaining pair to make a 999 call. In the winter groups discuss the dangers of icy lakes, as well as pointing out various dangers such as depth and
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
. Attention is also drawn to the dangers of fishing lines near high-voltage overhead cables, as well as a discussion of the hazards posed by lock gates. First aid - An interactive video allows pairs to attempt the recovery position. Farm - Dangers such as
hazardous chemicals Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
(including unlabelled containers), working animals and
heavy machinery Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...
are discussed. Demonstrations include a combine harvester and a silo. Shop - Children explore their own personal responsibility in matters such as
shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...
. Various methods of theft prevention are demonstrated, and groups discuss various sources of advice in the event of
peer pressure Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A g ...
or bullying. The Safety Centre's aim is to demonstrate hazards in a highly interactive way using active, hands-on experience as a more effective learning method than classroom teaching. Its policy is to illustrate dangerous situations and ways in which they can be prevented, actively avoiding explaining ways of physically combating dangers, such as extinguishing fires - the knowledge of which might prompt a child to put himself in danger by deciding to fight a fire himself rather than evacuating the area and leaving a responsible adult to combat the problem. Its key message is to put the child's own personal safety as the highest priority.


Impact and effectiveness

The Safety Centre has a high profile across Milton Keynes and the wider area. Because of its specialised purpose, there are very few similar centres in the country, thus it has a very wide catchment area including Buckinghamshire,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, Oxfordshire,
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
, Hertfordshire and north
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Many schools visit annually. The name "Hazard Alley" is recognised amongst children and students who remember their visits; fan groups on applications such as
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
have sprung up,http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=2475780664&ref=ts and many young people return as
volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
guides. Because its primary purpose is to prevent dangers and injuries, it is impossible to measure the true extent of the Safety Centre's effectiveness. However, there are several examples in the local press of children avoiding accidents using knowledge they had learned at Hazard Alley.


References

{{Reflist Child safety