Development of a Virtual Reality Serious Game for Fire Safety Training

Fire safety is a critical concern in society, and there is a need to develop effective training methods to educate people on how to respond to fire emergencies. Virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly used in training scenarios due to its ability to simulate real-life situations. The objectives of this study were to develop a fire safety training simulation game by using VR technology, which provide an immersive experience that allowed players to practice fire safety responses in a simulated environment, for both entertainment and training purposes, and to evaluate the quality of the game in terms of fire safety training. The game was developed not only for entertainment purposes but also to provide fire safety training knowledge. Its development process involved designing a scenario of a burning building, creating game mechanics, and developing the game using the Unity engine. For its assessment, first, three professional firefighters evaluated the game's quality using a qualitative evaluation form. The expert comment indicated that the game was well-designed, well-structured, and good enough to use for fire safety training and entertainment purposes. Second, the game was performed by 20 of 18-30-year-old individuals, as a player, for evaluating their knowledge of how to survive a fire in a burning building. The comparison between the knowledge score before and after playing the game effectively demonstrated the improved knowledge of how to survive a fire in a burning building. Future studies should examine the game's effectiveness when combing with the on-site training in enhancing people's knowledge and skills related to fire safety.
Keywords: Virtual Reality, Fire safety training, Simulation game