Have the residents of North Tallinn started to pay taxes worse that the rescue command has to be taken away from them? Definitely not. Do we have fewer people so that we should be considered less? Also no. Has the security situation in Estonian cities somehow changed in recent years to the point that we no longer need a rescue commando? Also no.
Kopli’s rescue command is 110 years old and has survived both the difficult times after the war of independence, the misery after the Second World War and the depression of the early years of regaining independence. The money has still been found, the work has still continued. Only now are the “steady hands” threatening to stop it with budget cuts.
Northern Tallinn is a special part of the city: the streets here are narrow, especially during peak hours, only a few single and congested roads lead out and in from the part of the city, surrounded by the sea. There are many wooden buildings, many homes with open fires due to stove heating, many industrial and port areas with the risk of technical accidents. The rescue service is responsible for its liquidation.
The story that the elimination of the Kopli commando does not affect the response time belongs to the world of bureaucratic responses. Of course it affects. When the flame is on, minutes count. You don’t have to be a lecturer at the Internal Defense Academy to understand this.
Anyone who has seen the training videos of the rescue service knows that in a few minutes, a small ignition turns into a big fire, the temperature rises many times, and from there, the moment when the only thing left to do is to rinse the bangs. Those who think that the response time will not increase, could submit their data. They haven’t been seen yet.
Anyone who knows the traffic in North Tallinn also knows that getting to and from the peninsula is a real pain during rush hour. A long time ago with a big fire engine. From Lilleküla to Kopl? Please, but it costs. Thieves and lives.
Lilleküla commando should be the one that will secure North Tallinn. How does he do it when the challenge is somewhere else in Tallinn? Practice in the form of the Pae street accident in April 2022 has shown that there would be no response capacity left for Northern Tallinn during major fires.
I have been an elder in North Tallinn for two years. During my term of office, there have also been many environmental pollutions, the elimination of which is the task of the emergency department. Although fuel oil has seeped out of the beach sand, buried oil residues have seeped out from under the grass. The rescue service helps and they have enough work. Northern Tallinn was and still is an industrial district, and this legacy must be taken into account. Unemployed companies represent an additional risk in any case, but this risk can be mitigated if the rescue agency is present and responding quickly.
If perhaps seconds are not so critical in the case of an oil spill, they are in the case of marine accidents. North Tallinn is located on the Kopli peninsula and we are surrounded by the sea on three sides. Sea rescue is again the responsibility of the rescue agency, and the Kopli command also has this capability.
In 15 years, the number of internal security positions in Estonia has decreased by a fifth, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets has indicated. Okay, so we have to do more with fewer people. But how much more with less? And now, when the security picture has worsened due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, isn’t this a sign that the readiness to fight the fire and save people from the rubble should rather be strengthened?
Rescuers are also responsible for creating shelters and carrying out evacuation. These aspects are now being talked about more than before. Only talking is not enough. Orange signs marking a shelter are not enough. I am surprised that there has been so much talk about broad national defense and the importance of internal security against the background of the ongoing war, but the actions are diametrically opposed. This does not match in any way with what is written in the internal security development plan 2020-2030.
In reality, it can be assumed that in the event of a crisis, evacuation from North Tallinn may prove to be extremely difficult precisely because of the congested streets. And in this case, the rescue service would not be able to reach the district from elsewhere. He must be there in the moment of crisis. There is also a military port in North Tallinn. Considering that it is a military target, this also affects the risk picture of the region in a crisis situation.
The taxpayers of North Tallinn have the right to expect that their safety will be protected both now and in the future. They have fulfilled their obligations, so must the Estonian state.
