Development and projects

Development and projects International Projects of Southwest Finland Emergency Services

The year 2020 was also exceptional in terms of project activities. Since March 2020, projects have been taken forward with a new operating model, that is, remote working. This operating model has been elaborated throughout the year, although project-based working poses various challenges when it is impossible to meet in person. Nevertheless, all projects have progressed on schedule. The exercises included in the projects have been postponed for safety reasons.

The aim of the Youth for Safer Youth project was to identify the safety concerns and needs of young people in the Baltic Sea Region. The study was conducted through a survey of young people, designed, implemented and analysed by young people together with safety and youth work professionals. In addition, the project explored the best means and channels for educating young people on safety issues. The participation of young people in the work and close cooperation with young people and professionals were essential in the project. The outputs of the project will be used, among other things, in the preparation of a larger training project related to security in the Baltic Sea Region. The original project period was from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was extended for 3 months and thus ended on 30 November 2020. The Inclusive Emergency project is developing the first open and multilingual e-learning platform for rescuers to prepare for and respond to emergencies involving people with disabilities. The e-learning platform can be used on laptops, tablets and smartphones and includes the following modules: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Visual and Hearing Impairment, Physical Impairment, and Mental Impairment. The first version of the e-learning platform was completed in summer 2020. During last autumn, project partners tested it with firefighters from four countries to evaluate the functionality of the material. Based on the test results, the necessary changes were made to the material. Before the turn of the year, we moved on to the next stage, developing auxiliary material facilitating the use of the actual training material. The project will continue until 31 May 2022. More information about the project can be found at https://www. inclusiveemergency.eu/.

The ResQU2 project implemented the lessons learned from the previous HAZARD project more widely in the EU. The project also included three other already completed projects and the information obtained from them. During the ResQU2 project, no exercises were organised, but knowledge was taken forward through various seminars and workshops. The project ended in March 2021. More information about the project and its progress can be found at https://blogit.utu. fi/resqu2/events/. CASCADE is a project focusing on preparing for the risks caused by climate change. Southwest Finland Emergency Services act as the main partner. The project will include online workshops to train instructors in the participating countries. You can follow the events of the project in more detail at www.cascade-bsr.eu. The project will end in June 2021.

OIL SPILL is a project focusing on shallow-water oil spill response and the long-term harnessing of third sector volunteers. The main exercise of the project is the Vellamo exercise to be held in spring 2021, where, among other things, the cooperation between the rescue department and the volunteers will be tested. One element of the Vellamo exercise is the testing of Host Nation Support readiness at the rescue department. The project has been taken forward in exceptional circumstances through online meetings and leadership exercises of various working groups. The project will continue until December 2021, and it is possible to follow the events at https://blogit.utu.fi/oilspill/.

Host Nation Support projects

Since 2019, Southwest Finland Emergency Services have been running the rescue services’ Host Nation Support project developing models for receiving international assistance funded by the Fire Protection Fund. The goal is to create a model for receiving assistance outside the rescue services’s operational area, such as international assistance.

In early 2020, the first training was held for the HNS preparedness pilot group. Staff from all service areas of the Emergency Services were selected for the group. However, exceptional times brought challenges to the implementation of project activities. Exercises and training events related to the Host Nation Support project had to be postponed, and many of the planned activities also had to be abandoned altogether. However, the new situation was well-adapted, and the first version of the national HNS operational model was published at the end of the year, according to the original schedule.

The project was also granted an extension until the end of June 2021. The development of HNS operations will continue and expand also in 2021. In December, Southwest Finland Emergency Services were granted funding from the Ministry of the Interior for joint research and development projects for the regional preparation of the rescue services to develop national HNS training activities. This is carried out in cooperation with the Emergency Services Academy Finland and the Finnish National Rescue Association SPEK. Together, the two projects strengthen the role of Southwest Finland Emergency Services as a national HNS expert organisation.

Text: Torbjörn Lindström, Development Manager Knut Lehtinen, Senior Fire Inspector Miikka Toivonen, Planning Officer Mikael Mattila, Planning Officer