front page | Ministry of the Interior, Rescue services in Finland

Finnish rescue authorities are responsible for the safety of people in any kind of everyday incident, and in the unlikely event of a catastrophe or war. Finland is one of the safest countries in the world, and major accidents are rare here.

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Finnish rescue services’ vision

Finland has a good safety culture and the most efficient rescue services in Europe.

With this in mind, Finnish rescue services operate according to the following principles:

Rescue services take efficient accident prevention measures.
Rescue service personnel are well-motivated and skilled.
Rescue services carry out safety work in cooperation with a network of partners.
The services provided are proportional to threats and customer-oriented, and they are produced economically.

The functions of Finnish rescue services are divided into accident prevention, rescue operations, and civil defence.

Accident prevention

Finnish rescue services are responsible for the active prevention of fires and other accidents. Accidents can be prevented by taking safety into account in all activities from the outset. Safety work is carried out in cooperation with other authorities, various organisations, and citizens.

Rescue operations

Rescue operations refer to emergency measures taken in the event of an accident in order to protect and rescue people, property and the environment, to limit damage and to mitigate consequences. In the event of an accident, rescue services must be able to provide help swiftly and efficiently.

Civil defence

Rescue services also have to function in exceptional circumstances. They take precautions to protect people and property in the event of an emergency.