> The right protection saves work and limits damage
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# The right protection saves work and limits damage

When the rescue department receives a fire alarm, things start happening immediately. But how quickly the rescue team can reach the fire is not constant. That is why the site’s fire protection system plays a significant role in how much damage is ultimately done.

The Emergency Services Academy Finland in Kuopio is the national educational institution for the rescue sector, with around 500 study places. **Jani Jämsä**, who works on accident prevention as a senior lecturer at the Emergency Services Academy, does his part to ensure that the expertise of rescue personnel in Finland remains top-class in the future too. “At our academy, we train the future professionals of our sector, whose professional skills and situational readiness are among the best in the world.”

## When something happens, things start moving

Jani Jämsä explains that when a fire is reported, a carefully honed and well-rehearsed chain of events is set in motion. “The very first to receive information about the incident is the Emergency Response Centre, where the report comes in either as a call or as an automatic alarm from a fire alarm system. After receiving the report, the emergency dispatcher processes the task and assesses what kind of help is needed at the scene.”

From the Emergency Response Centre, the alarm is passed on to the rescue department. “We use hand-held radios operating on a closed and reliable public authority network, and that is primarily where we receive the alert from the Emergency Response Centre. The alert can also come as a text message to our phones and to pagers. An audible alarm also sounds at the station. We use a response code system for different types of incidents, which indicates not only the location but also the nature of the incident. Based on this, we determine the personnel and equipment needed for the firefighting work.” The duties of rescue personnel also include equipment maintenance and, for example, various training tasks in schools, day-care centres and companies. When an alarm comes in, these tasks are set aside and the personnel take the action the alarm requires. “The personnel at the station gather the necessary equipment and set off. Some personnel may also come to the scene of the fire directly from a non-urgent task they have left unfinished.”

On arrival at the scene of the fire, a situation assessment is carried out, after which firefighting begins to the extent required. “A fire on the external wall of a building is the easiest to extinguish. If the fire has had time to spread towards the roof, the eaves and the attic, extinguishing it becomes more challenging, as aerial appliances are needed at the scene. If the flames are already large and the fire has to be tackled from inside the building, a sufficient number of firefighters wearing breathing apparatus is needed at the scene.”

### As quickly as possible

When a report reaches the Emergency Response Centre, the emergency dispatcher usually spends one to one and a half minutes processing it before passing the alarm on to the rescue department.

How quickly the rescue personnel can set off depends on the station’s state of readiness. “In larger urban areas, there is a one-minute turnout readiness around the clock. In sparsely populated areas, where permanent staff are on standby at home or operations are also carried out by volunteers, the readiness time can vary between 5 and 15 minutes.”

The driving time to the scene also varies from case to case. Naturally, the journey takes longer the farther the fire is from the rescue department. “On average, we cover about one kilometre a minute.”

The situation assessment carried out at the scene before firefighting is an important stage for the success of the rescue operation. “On arrival, we find out, for example, whether there are people inside, whether those on site have already started extinguishing the fire themselves and how the building can be entered if necessary. This is followed by unloading the equipment and giving orders to the rescue personnel. When everything goes well, these steps take 2–4 minutes in total.”

The total time from the alarm reaching the Emergency Response Centre to the start of the actual firefighting is the sum of all the stages above. In 2017, the rescue department reached the scene in an average of 14 minutes 40 seconds.

### The sooner, the better

According to Jani Jämsä, it is quite clear that the speed with which the report reaches the Emergency Response Centre has a major impact on the extent of the final damage. “Building fires progress at very different rates depending on, for example, the shape of the building or how its walls are insulated. All the same, the sooner firefighting can begin, the smaller the area to which the damage can be contained.”

A fire alarm system inside a building only reports a fire once it detects smoke in the indoor air. “If the wall structures of the building are tight, in the worst case this can mean that the building is already in flames right up to the roof structures by the time the indoor system detects the situation. By then, the rescue operation becomes extremely demanding and the damage extensive. Roof structures, for example, often have to be cooled and soaked, which of course also adds to the damage.”

In Jani Jämsä’s view, the external protection of buildings is something that should be taken care of at every valuable site. A good level of external protection is achieved with a combination of a linear heat detection cable attached to the building’s external wall and a sprinkler system. “In the case of churches, for example, arson fires are very often started outside the building. The heat detection cable senses the temperature rise on the building’s wall surface and raises an alarm when the surface temperature exceeds 60 degrees. When the fire progresses to the flaming stage, the sprinkler system activates and soaks the burning wall surface. Safety measures like these can make a substantial difference to the situation at the scene when the rescue department arrives.”

### The statistics could be different

In 2017, there were 5,362 building fires in Finland, of which nearly 1,500 were in public buildings. According to Jani Jämsä, the statistics could be different if fire protection were taken care of at the point where it is most beneficial. “Prevention is the best fire safety. Many losses could be avoided by making sure that the fire system at your own site is up to date, as comprehensive as possible and in working order. The sooner the alarm about a fire that is starting reaches the alarm centre, the shorter the time it takes for the rescue department to arrive. Sometimes even a single minute can be invaluable. So it pays to make sure that as many of them as possible are saved.”