ModerniSation of a civil defence shelter

FINNISH civil defence SHELTERS ARE IN NEED OF MAJOR REPAIRS

The private owner of a senior citizens’ service centre commissioned KT Paloturvapalvelut to carry out an inspection of the basement level of the building’s civil defence shelter. The client was about to put the renovation project out to tender and needed an expert’s opinion and cost estimate for the repair needs.

The shelter dates back to 1963 and is typical for a Finnish property, measuring approximately 100 m². The condition inspection identified major needs for renovation. KT Fire Safety Services offered the property owner a turnkey service to modernise the shelter.

– We were selected through a service package. In this case, the solution was easy for the client. They did not have to tender separately for the different parts of the contract. In addition to our strong system design expertise, we also have an electrical contracting licence and a competent partner network for specialised work (e.g. large-scale sand filter vacuuming and asbestos work), says Joona Timonen, Managing Director of KT Paloturvapalvelut.

The project started with material reservations and design work in December 2022 and was completed during April 2023. KT Paloturvapalvelu had about 10 of its own experts involved in all phases of the project.

In addition to our strong system design expertise, we also have an electrical contracting licence and a competent partner network for specialised work, e.g. large-scale sand filter vacuuming and asbestos work.

Joona Timonen, Managing Director

In general, it can be said that Finnish civil defence shelters are in need of major repair. However, each site is always first subject to a current situation survey, as projects are tailored to the site. In this case, the entire emergency technology of the shelter was replaced, including the outdated electrical installations, the control panel and the lighting and cabling.

Joona Timonen points out that competent supervision was a key factor. Timeliness of the work phases is crucial, as most renovation projects are carried out in buildings with occupants or businesses during the project. Among other things, noise nuisance created by sand removal vacuuming, diamond drilling, and electrical outages were communicated well in advance.

This site also received a maintenance-free KT-gsm communication device to use during crises. It is developed by KT Paloturvapalvelut to replace the communication links in the shelters.

Photo: The project included the replacement of the ventilation equipment in the public shelter to meet modern specifications.