Helsinki considers enlisting help of Defence Forces for snow removal

Tractors and trucks seen as more important than manpower

print this

The City of Helsinki Public Works Department is considering requesting help from the Defence Forces in dealing with the nearly record amounts of snow on the city’s streets and public areas.
      Raimo K. Saarinen, head of the Streets and Park Division of the Public Works Department, says that no decisions on resorting to the help of the military have been made yet.
      “We have discussed the issue of help from the Defence Forces in snow removal at the department, and on the Public Works Board”, Saarinen says.
     
The problem with requesting help from the military, according to Saarinen, is that snow ploughs and lorries would be more effective in removing masses of snow from the streets of Helsinki than large numbers of soldiers with snow shovels.
      About 400 vehicles and their crews are already busy ploughing and removing snow in Helsinki.
      About half of the snow removal equipment is owned by the city, and the rest is operated by private contractors. Proprietors of individual buildings also remove snow.
     
“Conscripts were used for the construction of flood barriers in the harbour area in 2005, so we do have experience in getting help from the Army in exceptional situations”, Saarinen says.
      “So far, this snow situation is not seen to be quite as exceptional.”
     
Lieutenant-Colonel Heikki Saarento does not dismiss the idea of using soldiers for clearing Helsinki’s streets and public areas of snow.
      “We have the men, but where would we get a sufficient number of shovels for the soldiers who take part? We have enough trucks, but would they be appropriate for taking snow away?" Saarento ponders.
     
To secure the assistance of soldiers in the “snow war”, the City of Helsinki, mainly its rescue officials, would have to put forward a request to the South Finland Military District, from where it would be passed on to the appropriate unit in the Helsinki region.
      Helsinki has a budget of over EUR 20 million for winter work. More than a quarter of that is spent on the springtime removal of grit from the streets and pavements.
      Raimo Saarinen says that the costs of snow removal in January alone have been double that of normal winters.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki struggles with towering drifts of snow (2.2.2010)
  Police urge motorists to avoid narrow streets with accumulated snow in Helsinki (1.2.2010)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute - five-day forecast for Helsinki
  Finnish Meteorological Institute - Snow Depth

Helsingin Sanomat