In brief

Accident statistics are compiled by use of the Finnish rescue services’ Internet-based accident statistics system (PRONTO). The system contains accident statistics by municipality going back as far as 1996, as well as statistical data on the rescue service resources of Finnish rescue departments, municipalities, and emergency response centres. The purpose of the system is to enhance the monitoring and development of rescue administration. The system is used by rescue service regions, emergency response centres, the Department for Rescue Services of the Ministry of the Interior, the Emergency Services College, and the Ministry of the Environment.

Rescue service system

22 rescue service regions
635 voluntary fire brigades and 153 industrial and institutional fire brigades
over 700 fire stations

Personnel

5000 full-time employees
14,300 part-time crew and voluntary fire brigade members

Total annual costs

State and regional expenditure EUR 340 million
Expenditure per capita EUR 65/inhabitant/year
Builders’ costs for building civil defence shelters EUR 39 million

Equipment

approx. 4,000 vehicles
approx. 540 boats and other vessels
snowmobiles, containers and hoists

Emergency missions per year

Finnish rescue departments handle approximately 85,000 emergency missions a year, distributed as follows:

fires 18%
rescue missions 25%
medical first aid (first response) 15%
checking and verification 35%
assistance-type missions 7%.

Fire

Finnish fire brigades extinguish around 12,000 fires each year, distributed as follows:

3,200 fires in buildings
2,200 fires in vehicles
2,700 terrain fires (The number varies greatly year to year, depending on the dryness of the summer.)
3,200 other fires.

Most fires are caused by human actions, accounting for around half of all fires every year. It has been estimated that some 14 per cent of fires are caused wilfully and around 18 per cent through negligence. Defective machinery and equipment cause approximately 20 per cent of all fires.

Rescue operations

There are approximately 20,000 rescue operations every year, distributed as follows:

traffic accidents 34% (approx. 6,000)
natural disasters 17% (approx. 3,500)
loss prevention 14% (approx. 2,400)
oil spills 13% (approx. 2,200)
human rescue 10% (approx. 1,800)
animal rescue 7% (approx. 1,200)
hazardous substances 1% (approx. 190)
other rescue operations 4% (approx. 750).

Urgent ambulance services

Approximately 200,000 urgent ambulance services are carried out in Finland each year.

Page modified: 27.6.2006

Rescue services in Finland