Ambulances in danger of getting stuck in melting slush as thaw comes

Rescue services urge people to remove snow and ice from lids of drains

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The slush melting in yards and streets is already disrupting the operation of ambulances in Helsinki.
      On-duty fire chief Hannu Arimo from the Helsinki Rescue Department urges the owners of properties, janitors, and real estate managers to see to it that the lids of drains in yards are free from ice.
     
”In addition to slush, the yards are now facing a situation in which water may flow into the basements of buildings”, Arimo warns.
      ”A layer of snow and ice as thick as ten centimetres may cover the lids of drains, preventing the waters from flowing into the sewer network”, Arimo continues.
     
The ambulances used by the Helsinki Rescue Department have been built on the normal van chassis, which is why they do not have any additional ground clearance or extra means of coping with difficult snow conditions.
      In Helsinki, the narrow streets with the piles of snow blocking pavements and cars being parked along both sides of the street are posing a problem for heavy rescue vehicles, Arimo reports.
     
A number of heavy vehicles have had to be repaired after having been dented in the narrow streets.
      Regional fire chief Heikki Kervinen from the West Uusimaa Rescue Department says that the ambulance and rescue staffs in Espoo have so far been able to take care of their assignments without being stuck, even though difficult spots have been encountered.
     
”We have reminded the technical departments of the cities in the area of the importance of the removal of snow and ice from streets and roads”, reports on-duty fire chief Jarmo Kivistö from the Central Uusimaa Rescue Department in Vantaa.
      The on-duty fire chiefs of the regional Rescue Departments of Southwest Finland and North Savo affirm that they have managed to take care of all emergency assingments normally even in the past few days.
     
The Finnish Meteorological Institute predicts that within the next few days, the weather will be mostly sunny while the amounts of new snow will be scanty.
      According to on-duty meteorologist Anja Häkkinen, the daytime temperatures will rise above zero, but at nights the temperatures will vary from a few minus degrees to as low as -20°C.
      Given the enormous amounts of snow lying around everywhere, it is now a matter of some concern what sort of spring we will get in the south of Finland - if all this snow melts rapidly, flooding is almost a foregone conclusion.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Rescue workers ready to react if roofs collapse (25.2.2010)
  Police urge motorists to avoid narrow streets with accumulated snow in Helsinki (1.2.2010)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute

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