Training Ground
A significant portion of practical training at the Emergency Services Academy Finland takes place at the training ground, which is located approximately 10 km from the college. The training ground is used for both vocational education and training as well as further training courses. It is also used in the realisation of disaster training exercises jointly carried out by different authorities. We are happy to provide the use of the training ground to organisations that provide security sector training.
When the training ground was designed, an effort was made to create an environment for safe performance of training exercises in conditions that are as realistic as possible. The area includes versatile training exercise fields and special buildings, a reception and maintenance buildings as well as classrooms. The training ground can be used for practising various scenarios: extinguishing different types of fires, prevention of chemical spills, diverse rescue assignments, driving on emergency runs and provide emergency medical care to those injured in accidents. Emergency medical care exercises utilise all the training exercise fields on the training ground.
The training ground, which is of high standard and versatile even by international standards, is continuously developed. The multi-purpose fire extinguishing simulator, which was built in 2015, can be used to instruct leaners on how to extinguish fires in industrial buildings, parking garages and shopping centres, tunnel-like spaces as well as command rescue operations, structural fire safety and fire investigations. Additionally, the simulator can be utilised in research and development activities and the investigation of accidents.
In 2009, a driving test course which allows training in icy winter conditions, a driving test course for off-road vehicles as well as a fire house with new technology were built in the area. In addition, a training field for hazardous materials missions and rescue work with chemical substances was built. In 2009, the area’s size grew by 15 hectares to a new total of 38 hectares.
Training environments
- Multi-purpose fire extinguishing simulator
- Apartment fire extinguishing simulators
- Concrete slab for extinguishing liquid fires on the ground
- Industrial building for extinguishing training
- Oil container simulator
- Electrified railway simulator
- Highway simulator
- Chemical training exercise field
- “Fire house”
- Exercise field for vehicle extrication
- Building for rescue training
- Ruins
- Traffic accident simulator
- Gas station simulator
- Driving test track
- Test track for off-road vehicles
Locations at which to train rescue skills
- Extinguishing water basin
- Flame cutting area
- Horizontal and vertical drilling area
- Ropes and knots training area
- Lifting and supporting training area
- Rooftop work area
- Chain sawing area
- First aid fire extinguishing area
Other training locations
- Search and rescue dogs training and test track
- Wreck simulator
Concrete slab, container fire and tank fire simulator
Concrete slabs used in training for accidents involving burning liquids as well as the container and tank fire extinguishing simulator was altered in 2008 to run on pressurised fuel oil and liquid gas. The change allows numerous repetitions during an exercise.
Hazardous substances training field
The training field for hazardous materials missions and rescue work with chemical substances is intended for e.g. practising for gas fires and hazardous substance spills.
Traffic accidents
The training area allows students to practice how to respond to traffic accidents using the correct equipment and vehicles. Vehicle extrication is one of the areas of training. Hundreds of vehicles are used as part of these training exercises each year. There are numerous different locations for staging accidents in the area including a road, a railway crossing and a highway.
Training for working at heights
There are numerous locations at the training ground for training for working at heights. Roof simulators that are equipped with exchangeable roof elements facilitate the training of rooftop work. Lifting and lowering of persons can be practiced, for example, at the mast and silo structures in the area.
Fire house
In addition to the old three floor fire house and industrial building built in 1992, a new fire extinguishing and fire cause investigation laboratory was built on the training ground in 2009. The fire houses allow the technical and strategic training of different building fires in realistic conditions. In addition to these, the training ground has numerous other buildings in which training can be carried out using live flames.
