Preparations at the provincial level
13.05.2009, 16:02
Exercises were held in Kainuu in preparation for a state of emergency, and all the provincial authorities participated. The performance of the new administrative system was tested at the same time. Because the crashing of the GSM network was one clear risk, VIRVE was a key means of communication in the exercise.
There is a broad municipal reform under way in Finland, in which municipalities will be combined to form large administrative areas. Province-level administration has been tested in Kainuu, in which the social and health care operations of several municipalities are combined into one organisation.
Kalevi Yliniemi, administrative manager of the Kainuu federation of municipalities, says that the joint provincial plan for states of emergency worked well in practice. It was noticed that by using a joint voice communication group, all of the network users could hear immediately what had happened, which was a plus for VIRVE.
VIRVE is important to health care services Maija Vasunta, charge nurse of medical services for the Kainuu Federation of municipalities, said that using the device was something new for many leading authorities. Vasunta says that the exercise was important because the province’s social and health care operations must be able to function in a geographically extensive area during states of emergency.
– There are personnel located in different municipalities, and they cooperate in all states of readiness including states of emergency. Using VIRVE was only one of the objectives of the exercise, but of course it was a key matter, Vasunta says.
A wide array of users
Many VIRVE devices were acquired for the management of the social and health care services and the overall management, who tested communication with the State Provincial Office and the management centre located in city hall.
In Kajaani, VIRVE was used by the mayor, the director of cultural services, the technical director, financial director, administrative director, communications secretary, procurement manager, maintenance director, and director of the waterworks. In Kainuu, a serious state of emergency can be caused by, for example, a power failure resulting from a storm, a breakdown of energy management, the transport of chemicals from a nearby mine, and contamination of the water.
In the municipality, VIRVE is needed in water resources management Juhani Pieniniemi, acting municipal manager of Sotkamo, says he is satisfied with the exercise. Pieniniemi says the exercise situations were designed to feel authentic. Traditionally, VIRVE is used in Finland by the safety and rescue services sector. In the future, the Sotkamo local authorities could utilise VIRVE in property or water resources management.
– When a serious water leakage or other crisis situation occurs, the users of the same voice communication group are informed of it and can move to the site. We have also considered the possibility that the use of VIRVE could be expanded to include use by the headmasters of large schools during crises, Pieniniemi
says.