Rescue workers ready to react if roofs collapse

Finnish Environment Institute worried about dangerously heavy snow load on roofs

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The Finnish Environment Institute warned on Wednesday that he snow load on roofs is thicker than normal, especially along the south coast and in the southwest of Finland.
      In the Greater Helsinki area, old roofs are especially at risk, as they have not been designed to tolerate the amount of snow that has come down this winter. Roofs built before 1983 are faced with the greatest risk of collapse.
      If the snow is more than 50 centimetres deep, snow removal is recommended. Moreover, if the snow load has piled up in drifts on the roof, it should be evened out.
     
One reason for the collapse of a sports arena in Järvenpää on Tuesday could have been the snow load on the roof. The incident awoke even the Ministry of the Interior.
      On Wednesday, Director-General Pentti Partanen from the Department for Rescue Services at the Ministry of the Interior reminded the rescue departments of the possibility of utilising the expertise of Finnrescue Finland (FRF), which works under the auspices of the governmental institution Crisis Management Centre Finland.
      ”When it comes to domestic catastrophes, we do not speak about actual FRF arrangements but about mutual cooperation between various rescue departments. However, material that has been acquired for chiefly international operations could be of benefit even here”, Partanen notes.
      ”Sending equipment alone would not be enough, one should send also a team that knows how to use it”, Partanen adds.
     
FRF is a task force that Finland can send to participate in international rescue operations in the event of a catastrophic accident.
      The depot of the task force is located in the premises of the Central Uusimaa Rescue Department in Vantaa. The depot contains unique special equipment for examining ruins, such as sensitive sound locators and cameras that can be used in narrow places.
     
During the current week, FRF has been holding exercises in the premises of an old limestone factory in Lohja. Already for two days, some 20 firefighters and dog handlers have been learning how to act in ruins.
      On Wednesday, volunteer dog handlers showed the FRF firefighters how to act with rescue dogs.
     
In the afternoon, 3-member teams nailed up frames of planks, which can be used to support structures at risk of collapsing.
      There were various tools on the tables and on the floor, while Janne Kekkonen, Timo Silander, and Juhani Prokki were crouched down on the floor, evaluating each other’s work.
     
There was a mysterious circle with some numbers on the front door of the factory. The men gathered around it, asking each other if someone remembered what the drawing meant.
      In fact, the drawing is an international signalling code for collapsed buildings. It is used to mark the dangerous spots in ruins, as well as those who have been found alive and those found dead. The system ensures that the building has been examined.
      Raimo Rasijeff returned from the Haiti earthquake area three weeks ago. He said that Finns always use the system, while in Haiti he never saw such marks.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Snow load on roofs getting risky in places (24.2.2010)

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