Ministry of Interior’s Sector for Emergency Management and USAID launch Educational Campaign on Fire Safety for school children

sreda, 05 maj 2010 13:08

Belgrade, May 5, 2010 – With the support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ministry of Interior’s Sector for Emergency Management will implement educational campaign dedicated to safety of children in case of fire. Poster that presents the proper actions in case of fires that was specially designed for primary school children will be placed in all classrooms in Belgrade. The campaign will be carried out by the newly-formed National Training Center for Emergency Management together with Belgrade Department for emergency management. In the following months all primary school children in Belgrade will learn about the threats and actions in case of fire.

Until the early 90’s, primary and secondary school pupils in Serbia have learned the basic rules for actions in case of natural and man-made disasters. The biggest challenge that the Sector for Emergency Management is facing today is non-existence of systematic education in this area. Fire is the most dominant threat that is always present in urban areas.

The ceremony that will be held in primary school “Jovan Ducic” in Belgrade on Wednesday, May 5 at 11:30 a.m. will be supported by: Vice-Premier and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic, HE US Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick, Minister of Education Dr. Zarko Obradovic, Deputy Minister of Interior and Head of Sector for Emergency Management Predrag Maric and Red Cross of Serbia Secretary General Vesna Milenovic. On this occasion, Sector for Emergency Management and the Red Cross of Serbia will conduct a simulation on evacuation and rescue.

USAID Preparedness and Planning Program has been collaborating with the Sector for Emergency Situations and Serbian municipalities since 2006, making the joint efforts to advance disaster preparedness and response. The aim of the program is to support development of a sustainable and systemic approach to disaster management at the local and national level and establish new partnerships between municipalities and towns and the national ministries. 80 municipalities have joined USAID Preparedness and Planning Program so far, while 38 municipalities, upon their successful months long training and meeting certification requirements, have been certified for achieving enhanced disaster resilience at the local level.