A joint rescue centre run by the Finnish Civil Aviation Administration and the municipality of Vantaa is now in service. Located at Teknikontie 4, the new centre will be used by the Vantaa municipal rescue department, the administration department for Helsinki-Vantaa Airport’s rescue services and by the Avia College fire and rescue training unit. The building was erected for and is owned by Lentoasemakiinteistöt Oyj, which is a CAA subsidiary.
Those involved in the project say they are satisfied with the smooth cooperation it entailed and with the new premises themselves. Lentoasemakiinteistöt Oyj’s managing director,
Antti Ala-Heikkilä, comments that the venture was primarily intended to achieve synergy benefits and to seek opportunities for collaboration. The new building contains work and instructional space for each of the users’ own purposes, as well as common areas such as a library, dining and classroom facilities, social areas and a gymnasium.
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport’s rescue chief,
Jouni Roos, says that initially, four or five members of the airport rescue services’ administration department will transfer to the new building. It will also be used for training and in future the employees’ clocking-in point will be located there. The operations centre for the airport’s rescue squad will remain at the old fire station
Mikko Ilmonen, head of Vantaa’s municipal rescue department points out that the Rescue Centre is Vantaa’s third fire station.
- The new station allows us to reach the central Vantaa area within six minutes. We can also take care of the special risks of the airport site itself more effectively, because we can reach emergencies quickly and without having to pass through demarcation lines. Crew will have passes and permission to drive in the airport grounds, for example. The Vantaa rescue department’s 30 administrative and support staff have already moved into the Rescue Centre, along with about 40 operational crew members.
The third occupant of the Rescue Centre is the Avia College rescue training unit. Head of instruction,
Tapio Patrakka, seems pleased with his new facilities.
- Previously we held the Avia College rescue training theory lessons in the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport bomb shelter, which also stored equipment - Now we have good, modern facilities above ground. The classrooms and rescue equipment are in the same place in the new building.
Avia College held its first lectures in the new premises on April 9th, 2003. In future, all training for airport operations staff will be concentrated in the Rescue Centre. Last year, 510 people underwent a total of more than 2,000 hours of airport operations training.
Project Chief,
Antti Tiainen, of Lentoasemakiinteistöt Oyj was in charge of the construction work for the Rescue Centre. He said the building came on stream on schedule, the work having started in March 2002, in time for completion in spring 2003. The building was designed by
Simo Rautamäki and
Pekka Salmi of P&R Arkkitehdit Oy. The Centre was built for and is owned by Lentoasemakiinteistöt Oyj, a wholly owned subsidiary set up by the CAA in 1999. The company owns and rents out office space to aviation enterprises operating at airports.
For more information, please contact:
Antti Ala-Heikkilä , Managing Director, Lentoasemakiinteistöt Oyj, (09) 8277 3992.
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