Volunteer with the fire brigade
Anyone can volunteer with the fire brigade, and no training is needed to join.
Children, young people, adults and even older veterans can take part in different activities and hobbies.
Communal vibes
– For many people, the most important reason to volunteer with the fire brigade is a sense of community and working together, i.e. the social activities involved. The desire to help and emergency response activities are also important, says Niko Ara , Development Manager for volunteering with the fire brigade at The Finnish National Rescue Association (SPEK).
– Courses that are a part of the Emergency Services Academy Finland’s curriculum are credit-bearing, which means that schools and educational institutions can accept the courses as part of their studies. SPEK’s Palokuntakouluttajakurssi (Fire department instructor course) is also credit-bearing.
Everyone between the ages of 7 and 17 are welcomed to participate in the youth activities organised by the fire brigade.
Learn more about fire brigade youth activities (in Finnish)
Values of young fire brigade volunteers
- Fairness and caring: young fire brigade volunteers appreciate and take care of each other
- Reliability: young fire brigade volunteers are reliable and responsible
- Safety and responsibility: young fire brigade volunteers know how to act in various situations and dare to act as well
People of age can participate in emergency response activities and women’s fire brigade activities
- Contract fire brigade activities (in Finnish), such as participating in emergency response activities, are for people of legal age. Joining a contract fire brigade requires commitment, regular training and completing courses in accordance with the training programme.
- Fire brigade support activities (in Finnish), such as the activities for women, are a useful hobby for anyone who is interested in the fire brigade and every-day safety. Key tasks include safety communication and advice at various events, such as nurseries, schools and trade fairs, as well as organising fire brigade camps and doing catering at various events.
- Contract fire brigades are associations that have specific bylaws and ways of working. You can learn more about them on the Palokuntaan.fi website (in Finnish).
Find out more about local activities by contacting the fire brigade near you. You can find the contact details of different fire brigades by using the fire brigade search.
Fire brigade search (in Finnish)Socially significant activities
– The safety information and skills you learn are always with you, and they will often come in handy if there is an accident in your everyday life. Employers also value these safety skills.
– Every year, contract fire brigade produces 1.25 billion euros of societal value, and every euro that is invested in the activity will be reinvested in society around 12 times over, Ara says.
Fire brigade provides orientation training for new members, which includes basic information and skills related to the fire brigade’s operations and practices. The fire brigade provides its members with all the necessary equipment and tools.
Join the fire brigade (in Finnish)You too can help
Volunteer fire fighters help with 200 alarms each day.
Instructions on how to report an emergency
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Call the emergency number 112.
Only call in urgent, genuine emergencies when someone’s life, health or property or the environment is under threat or in danger. If you use the 112 mobile app, remember to make the call through the app. This way, your location information will be forwarded to the emergency response centre automatically.
You can also call the emergency number 112 using a foreign mobile phone subscription. Even then there’s no need to use a country or area code: just dial 112.
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You can also send a text message.
If necessary, you can also report an emergency by sending an SMS to the number +358 112.
The use of emergency SMS messages is primarily reserved for individuals who cannot hear or produce speech. An emergency text message can only be sent from a pre-registered phone number. A number can be pre-registered on the Suomi.fi website.
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Do not call or text the emergency number in the following cases:
if the situation is not urgent, if you have general enquiries or want to ask a question or if you are reporting a disturbance where no one is in danger.
Source: Suomi.fi