On 13 May, a control exercise for water rescue and pollution control will take place at Lake Ülemiste and its surrounding area. The exercise is organised by the Rescue Board and the main aim of the exercise is to check the response and readiness of the Tallinn Airport rescue service and AS Tallinna Vesi water treatment plant for large-scale rescue work at Lake Ülemiste, in case of aircraft accident; and the readiness of Tallinn Ambulance to respond to an event with many injured persons.
Andres, Saaren, the general manager of the exercise, advisor to the response bureau of the North Rescue Centre said that the purpose of such exercises is to practice cooperation between different institutions.
“Additionally, we can practice cooperation between different parties inside the rescue centre, this gives us better readiness for an actual event,” said Saaren.
Organising such trainings and exercises has become a tradition for the team of AS Tallinna Lennujaam, because it is important to be ready to solve situations that may occur. “We regularly organise exercises between different institutions for the purposes of training and control. Rescue work related to aircraft accidents is always complicated, especially in locations that are not easily accessible. Responding in a quick, professional and coordinated manner is essential in situations like these and if there are several parties working to save the lives of people, practicing cooperation is even more important,” said Toomas Mardo, head of the Tallinn Airport rescue service.
AS Tallinna Vesi is a provider of an essential service, whose task is to ensure clean drinking water for the population. “An oil spill at Lake Ülemiste is a risk for the source of drinking water for the residents of Tallinn, for the prevention and liquidation of which we must always be ready. Today’s thorough rescue exercise is a good way to check the readiness of the teams and cooperation for managing extensive crisis situations,” said Riho Sobi, head of the water treatment plant of AS Tallinna Vesi.
The entire exercise is planned in cooperation with AS Tallinna Vesi in the manner that the quality of the residents of the city is not jeopardised. Furthermore, the organisers have ensured that the exercise or the training on the day before do not influence air traffic.
