By Anjana Kallarackal
At the heart of Cobb County, it turns out, is another, miniature Cobb County. It is a child-sized representation with scaled-down signage, streets, and traffic lights. It features a town square, a pavilion, and several of the buildings that you would see if you were you to drive around the area. Each element in the Cobb County Safety Village has been created with the specific intent of educating students about important safety issues.
Officially opened in 2009 and located on Al Bishop Drive in Marietta, the Safety Village is conveniently situated in central Cobb County. This location allows it to be accessible to the 23,000+ students who come in from every part of Cobb over the course of the school year. While you may find Safety Villages in other parts of the United States, the Cobb County Safety Village is the only one of its kind in Georgia and the most expansive in the nation. Their primary objective is to offer comprehensive, interactive safety education to every kindergartner, second grader, and fourth grader in the county, covering issues such as fire and electrical safety, as well as road, helmet, and water safety.
Origin
Allison Carter, Director of the Safety Village, explained that “The idea of prevention education began in 1978 when our fire chief at the time decided that we needed to provide safety education to our young people.” This was when Cobb County’s Public Fire and Life Safety Education division was founded. At that time, off-duty firefighters were sent out to schools to educate elementary school students on fire hazards and what to do if a student encountered a fire.
During the 30 years that followed, Cobb County doubled in size. It became difficult and costly to reach every student by the end of a school year. The fire chief at the time, Chief Rebecca Denlinger, studied the data of those previous three decades and found that while the population had doubled, the number of structure fires remained about the same and fire fatalities in youth had declined, suggesting that the fire prevention education had been effective. But, because of the burgeoning population, more efficient solutions needed to be sought out.
This was when Chief Denlinger put together a group that surveyed how other regions were conducting safety training and then came across the idea of the Safety Village. The Safety Village concept originated in Canada and spread from there to several other cities in both Canada and the United States. Common features of these Safety Villages included creating a small, child-sized village that was representative of their local community where children could interactively learn about the different safety issues that they might confront in their day-to-day lives.
Program
The field trips to the Safety Village last around three hours and are separated into nine, 20-minute modules that each detail a different safety issue. Someone in uniform acts as the lead for each group so that students can become comfortable with people in uniform and get a chance to hear their real-life, in-the-field stories.
Students also learn vital skills such as how to crawl to safety in case of a fire. A 911 call is simulated with an operator to help students become comfortable calling for help. They also learn what to do if approached by a stranger, are home alone, or find a gun in the house. These exercises, along with several other lessons, are central to Safety Village’s philosophy: Tell me, and I’ll forget; Show me, and I might remember; Involve me, and I’ll learn for a lifetime.
Features of the facility
What impresses most kids upon arrival at the Safety Village’s educational center is the full-sized house they see upon entering the building. This house is affectionately called Sparky’s House. It is an interactive home that includes all kinds of fire and safety hazards for children to identify and correct. The couch lights up in plastic flames, and the room fills with simulated smoke. The children learn how to determine a family meeting spot and how to exit through a window using an emergency escape ladder. Children also learn how to identify hazardous household products.
The Safety Village is not only outfitted for children’s safety education, but it also features a fire safety tour for seniors, which serves as a refresher course about fire hazards and the importance of habits such as not leaving a room when cooking or wearing long outerwear that could potentially catch fire when using a stove. The Safety Village also has developed a fire safety program for businesses to attend, and they host CPR classes for the community. Housed within the Safety Village complex is an auxiliary service hosted by Safe Kids Cobb County. Here, they offer free car seat checks to help prevent motor vehicle injuries and conduct safety workshops for the community.
The Safety Village Foundation
The Safety Village Foundation was established in 2007 to help support the efforts of fundraising and build relationships with potential sponsors that would fund the individual buildings within the village that would best represent the community. The Safety Village Foundation’s mission is to serve as an advocate, to develop partnerships, and to secure resources in support of the Cobb County Safety Village. The vision is a sustainable Cobb County Safety Village that builds a safer community through advocacy and education.
The Foundation, made up of different Cobb County community members, primarily seeks out the businesses and individuals who want to support safety education by sponsoring a building or safety events. The buildings are then maintained as part of a contract for 20 years. Carter credits the Safety Village Foundation as “a pivotal component at keeping the Safety Village operational.” She applauds their responsiveness to the needs of the education team, whether it be to acquiring additional puppets for the safety puppet show, finding a grant for an electric fire extinguisher simulator or securing a major grant/sponsor for an innovative new teaching module or building. Carter reiterates “having the Safety Village Foundation just makes that so much easier and to have that collaboration and relationship is amazing.”
One of the most exciting elements of the village design is that it requires the collaborative effort of local businesses to sponsor buildings. Some of the earliest sponsors include Cobb & Douglas Public Health, Cobb EMC, and Wellstar Health System. Several of these sponsored buildings feature extensive interactive exhibits. Cobb EMC, for example, has highlighted issues around electrical safety through several interactive panels. Cobb & Douglas Public Health teach about proper handwashing and preparing home emergency kits.
Al Martin, Area Manager for Georgia Power Company says, “It has been my privilege to represent Georgia Power on the Cobb County Safety Village Foundation board for over 10 years, including serving as the current Board Chair. At Georgia Power, our first and most important value is Safety First. We actively care about the safety and well-being of our employees, customers and communities. Our culture is built on safely approaching every job, every day, and this always comes first. In addition to safety on the job, helping our employees create a safe environment at home is very important. The mission of Safety Village ties directly to what we strive to do for our employees and their families every day. The Safety Village is a tremendous asset to our entire community.”
Recent updates
Recently, the Safety Village received a grant of $275,000 through Cobb County ARPA (the American Rescue Plan Act), which was then matched by the Safety Village Foundation. This grant money is now being put towards building outdoor restrooms at the center of the Safety Village along with an outdoor gathering plaza.
Around the same time, LGE Community Credit Union also decided to become a sponsor and has proposed a building that could be used to help educate senior citizens about the newest financial fraud schemes occurring in the community. Chris Leggett, president and CEO of LGE Community Credit Union, said, “At LGE, we are committed to giving back to the communities we serve. We believe that safety education is essential for everyone, and we are proud to partner with the Cobb County Safety Village to help keep Cobb County residents safe.”
The Safety Village still has space for 10 new buildings. And, as the 20-year building contracts begin to expire, new opportunities will begin to surface.
Future hope
The Safety Village is a dynamic agency that is continuing to develop its curriculum and the physical village. They hope to continue to build out safety education for senior citizens and further develop their education programs for young students on safety issues such as preparing for severe weather. They also envision creating a small-scale recycling center that would educate students about what items can be recycled safely.
Carter says they want to inspire other companies to join with them and sponsor a building and have their brand represented on campus for the next 20 years. “We would love to see a grocery store so we can talk about healthier [food] choices and portion control,” she said. “We would love to have a residential home focused on weather safety and critical storm conditions. We are in discussion with the Braves Foundation to build a small stadium that we can focus on year-long hydration and staying physically active. Honestly, we need a home improvement store as we discuss the use of working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide, and home escape ladders. My list of safety ideas is endless.”
If you would like further information about how to get involved with the Safety Village, reach out to Director Carter at Allison.Carter@cobbcounty.org.
Community events
The Safety Village hosts three major fundraisers every year. They host Family Fun Safety Days where entire families come for fire and life safety education, meet with emergency personnel, see firetrucks up close, and tour the Village. And in October, the Safety Village hosts Truck-a-Palooza, which features dozens of safety vehicles including police cars, fire engines, and military vehicles. Also in October, The Safety Village partners with Safe Kids Cobb County for the Cobb Public Safety Golf Tournament. The funds raised from all events are then directly invested back into Safety Village’s education programs.
Takeaways
As Lisa Crossman, the Deputy Director of Cobb & Douglas Public Health, expressed, “I’ve been honored to work with the Cobb County Safety Village since its inception. Our innovative Safety Village staff effectively educates children and families on multiple safety topics. We’ve repeatedly seen kids use this vital information in crises, preventing home fires, following bike safety rules, and accessing 911, just to name a few. If a local business is looking for a meaningful way to make a difference in our community, investing in the Cobb County Safety Village is a perfect choice.”
Through the dedication of the Safety Village staff, foundation, and sponsors, both children and families are equipped with life-saving knowledge. As children integrate these vital lessons into their daily lives, they become catalysts for change within their families, initiating discussions on critical topics and recognizing safety hazards when they encounter one. And if a crisis emerges, the training that the Safety Village provides helps empower students with the knowledge, resources, and confidence to navigate any challenges they may encounter.
