Preparedness

On the Customer Service and Support page, you will find a compilation of the city’s most central service numbers and customer service points.

In an emergency, always call 112.

On the Häme Police Department website, you will find phone numbers and information regarding the police department’s opening hours.

The national Medical Helpline 116 117 serves in Kanta-Häme.

Always call the toll-free number 116 117 before considering going to the emergency department. If there is a queue on the line, you can choose the call-back option, in which case we will call you as soon as possible.

However, in an emergency, always call 112!

Social and Crisis Emergency Services – Oma Häme (omahame.fi)

Urgent Dental Care and Emergency Services – Oma Häme (omahame.fi)

Healthcare Emergency Services – Oma Häme (omahame.fi)

Hämeenlinnan Seudun Vesi Oy, or HS-Vesi, is a water supply company owned by Hämeenlinna and Hattula. On the HS-Vesi website, you will find instructions for disruption situations related to domestic water.

HS-Vesi also has a 24-hour emergency service for emergency situations. Fault reports

Elenia’s fault service and power outage map.

On weekdays from 8:00 to 16:00, contact the municipal veterinarian in your area.

At other times

• tel. 0600 91885 (subject to a fee)
• weekdays from 16:00 to 8:00
• weekends starting from Friday at 16:00, continuing until Monday at 8:00
• on public holidays and on Christmas and Midsummer Eve starting at 16:00 on the day preceding the aforementioned day and ending at 8:00 on the working day following the holiday.

The emergency service area includes seven municipalities: Riihimäki, Loppi, Hausjärvi, Hyvinkää, Janakkala, Hämeenlinna, and Hattula.

Report street light faults via the Hämeenlinna feedback channel.

The objective of preparedness and contingency planning, in support of the city’s strategy, is the creation of a safe living environment, the management of the municipality’s service production as smoothly as possible in all circumstances, the management of disruption situations, and recovery from them.

Preparing for various disruption situations helps in coping with them. By preparing, the city ensures that services and decision-making important to the residents function even during disruptions in normal times and in exceptional circumstances.

During disruption situations, there may be interruptions in services, but the aim is for services to return to normal as soon as possible.

The City of Hämeenlinna’s contingency plan describes the preparedness for disruption situations and exceptional circumstances, and defines, among other things, practical operating models for disruption and exceptional situations, who is responsible for operations, and how operations are managed.

The contingency plan was updated by the City Board on 20 February 2023, and its up-to-dateness is reviewed periodically.

The city’s preparedness is led by the Mayor. According to the Administrative Regulations, the specific task of the Human Resources and Preparedness Director is, among other things, to be responsible for the city’s preparedness and continuity management. The city’s preparedness group consists of the city’s management team, supplemented by the Business Director and the Administrative Director. If necessary, other experts can be invited to the preparedness management group.

Rescue plans have been drawn up for all of the city’s properties.

Communication is part of the management of a crisis situation, and the responsibility for communication lies with the actor leading the situation.

In a crisis situation, the city’s communication is handled by intensifying well-functioning, tested, and
reliable normal communication practices and channels.

In connection with possible disruption situations, the city communicates about the development of the situation on its website, social media channels, and through the media.

The main principles of crisis communication are: initiative, speed, clarity, reliability, and dialogue.

The objectives of crisis communication are to:

• ensure the safety of people,
• secure the operational readiness and reputation of the organisation,
• inform about arrangements concerning services,
• ensure that there is a truthful picture of the situation in the public eye, and
• anticipate possible emerging crises and prevent them if possible, or
  prepare for them as well as possible.

• bottled water, juices, and juice soups
• fresh fruits, vegetables, and root vegetables, as well as canned goods
• bread, crispbread, rice cakes, rusks
• cereals, mueslis, flakes, nuts, seeds
• dried fruits, such as raisins, plums, dates
• jams, purees
• milk and plant-based drinks that keep at room temperature
• canned fish, meat, and beans
• snack bars, biscuits, chocolate, crisps
• Remember to take special diets into account and also reserve food for pets!

• containers with lids for storing water
• a battery-operated radio and batteries
• a flashlight
• iodine tablets (NOTE! an iodine tablet may only be taken when instructed by an authority)
• medicines and hygiene supplies – take necessary prescription medicines into account
• duct tape or cling film

Did you know that home reserves are also utilised if the situation requires moving to a civil defence shelter? Residents must bring, among other things, their own food and personal supplies.

Familiarise yourself with the Home Reserve and test your own readiness.

Advance preparedness and also ensuring your own comfort make winter power outages more pleasant. A preparedness walk is one way to ensure that every family member can easily find the things needed during a power outage. A power outage can happen even when a child is home alone.

Read tips for a preparedness walk here!

Information security includes, for example, data encryption, backup, and the use of a firewall, antivirus software, and certificates.

Protect your network connection, log in securely, create a secure password for services, and protect your money.

You can find more information on all of these on the 72hours website for preparedness.

An infectious disease is caused by, for example, a virus, bacterium, parasite, or fungus. The most common infectious diseases are various respiratory infections such as influenza, coronavirus, or common colds, as well as various intestinal infections.

An epidemic is a disease that infects a large part of the population in a certain area.

A pandemic, on the other hand, means an epidemic that extends across continents.

More information on the 72hours preparedness page.

Do you recognise how you act under pressure?

• Getting to know oneself and practicing new skills are key factors in strengthening mental crisis resilience. By striving to understand yourself, building healthy routines, acquiring necessary knowledge and skills, and maintaining a sense of community, you can increase your ability to cope and adapt in difficult situations.

How can you improve mental crisis resilience before a crisis?

Self-care and routines

• Sufficient sleep, a nutritious diet, and regular exercise promote physical health and positive mental health.
• Creating routines for everyday life makes it easier to maintain them also during disruption situations and crises.

Material preparedness

• Acquire a home reserve and other necessary supplies. When you know that you have useful supplies ready, you will trust more in your own ability to cope.

Knowledge and skills:

• Preparedness is not only about supplies but also about knowledge and skills. Acquiring information and accepting that difficult situations can occur help in preparing mentally.
• By practicing preparedness skills, you improve your own abilities to cope with various situations. Various organisations offer many courses that can help you improve your own expertise. See, for example:
  • National Defence Training Association of Finland (MPK), for example, the Everyday Safety course
  • Women’s Preparedness Association, for example, the Coping Without Electricity course
  • Save the Children, for example, Encountering a Child in Crises
  • The Finnish National Rescue Association (SPEK), First-response Firefighting Training
  • Finnish Red Cross (SPR), First Aid courses

Additional information on the 72-hours website.

In dangerous and emergency situations, authorities warn the population of an imminent, immediate danger with a general danger signal and an emergency warning. The general danger signal is given via outdoor sirens or, outside built-up areas, by mobile sirens installed on vehicles.

• The general danger signal is a one-minute rising sound signal (7 seconds) and falling sound signal (7 seconds), or a warning given by announcement.
• The danger over signal is a one-minute steady sound signal. It indicates that the threat or danger is over.
• The test signal is a 7-second steady sound (the first Monday of every month at 12:00).

If you hear the general danger signal, act as follows

1. Go indoors
2. Close doors, windows, vents, and ventilation
3. Turn on the radio and wait calmly for instructions
4. Avoid using the phone (including calling 112) so that the lines do not become congested
5. Stay indoors
6. Do not leave the area so that you do not encounter danger on the way

Taking shelter indoors and acting according to instructions in a dangerous situation is the first and usually sufficient method of protection. Everyone should recognise the general danger signal and know how to act correctly upon hearing it.

The general danger signal is always accompanied by an emergency warning

The emergency warning is read on all radio channels and, if necessary, displayed on YLE, MTV3, and Nelonen teletext page 112, as well as in television programmes as scrolling text at the top of the screen. The purpose of the emergency warning is to warn of a dangerous event and provide instructions for action.

The tasks of the authorities include maintaining the basic maintenance of the population and society’s ability to function, as well as protecting the population when necessary. The rescue department, as one of the internal security authorities, is on duty 24/7. People living in Finland can sleep peacefully at night.

The Kanta-Häme Rescue Department takes care of accident prevention, rescue operations, and preparedness for exceptional circumstances, as well as emergency medical services in its area.

More detailed information about the Kanta-Häme Rescue Department and its operations and services can be found on the Kanta-Häme Rescue Department website.

Taking shelter in civil defence shelters is not the first measure in many situations; instead, the population is always primarily moved to a safer area.

A civil defence shelter is intended to protect the population during a military attack. However, Finland is not currently facing any kind of military threat. Civil defence shelters are a separate space built into or in connection with a building, or a separate building, whose task is to provide protection where people normally move, work, and live.

In Hämeenlinna, civil defence shelters are mainly located in residential buildings, i.e., apartment buildings. In addition, they are located in some public spaces, such as schools, hospitals, shopping centres, and workplaces. Residents of apartment buildings thus take shelter in the property’s own civil defence shelter or a joint civil defence shelter to which the property is connected. The owner of the building is always responsible for the civil defence shelter.

In Hämeenlinna, public civil defence shelters are mainly located in the city centre area. This is based on the authorities’ assessment that the probability of the need for shelter in the rural districts is significantly lower than in the city. People move to public shelters according to the instructions of the authorities, and the authorities also provide instructions on which shelter to move to.

Detached houses do not have their own civil defence shelters. Protection is implemented in accordance with separate official instructions, for example by evacuating the population from the danger area. Authorities may also instruct people to shelter indoors. For example, in radiation accident situations, sheltering indoors and stopping ventilation are sufficient measures.

More information on civil defence on the Rescue Services website.

More information on civil defence on the website of the Finnish National Rescue Association (SPEK).

In a gas danger situation and a radiation situation, a general danger signal is given.

Gas danger

If you are already indoors and smell gas

• Press a wet cloth in front of your mouth and breathe through it
• Move to and stay on the upper floors, if possible
• Listen calmly to the radio and wait until the danger is over

If you are outdoors and cannot get indoors

• Strive to move crosswind from under the gas cloud
• Move as high as possible, for example, to the top of a hill
• Use a wet cloth, grass, peat, or moss in front of your mouth and breathe through it

Radiation danger

The radiation situation is constantly monitored throughout the country. Even very small changes in the radiation situation are detected immediately and reported without delay.

1. Go indoors. Seal doors, windows, and vents (tape, towel, clothes) and turn off the ventilation. You will prevent radioactive substances from entering the indoors. Move to the central parts of the building/apartment. A solid and windowless cellar built underground provides the best protection.
2. Prepare to take an iodine tablet. Take an iodine tablet only upon the recommendation of the authorities, which you will hear on the radio or television. Iodine tablets prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland, but they do not provide other protection against radiation. Prepare by acquiring them in advance from a pharmacy. You must not/cannot leave to fetch iodine tablets once a dangerous situation has occurred.
3. Protect water and food – including that of animals. Pack food items in tight containers or plastic bags. Move tightly packed food items to the refrigerator or freezer, as they effectively protect against radioactive dust. Also protect animal food, fodder storage, and water.
4. Read, listen, and look for additional instructions and follow the media
5. You can get additional instructions from, among others, the rescue authorities, the police, the Ministry of the Interior, the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, and generally all media outlets, e.g., radio, television, the Internet, and the Finnish Broadcasting Company’s teletext pages 868 (Rescue Services) and 867 (Radiation Safety pages).
6. Be cautious about social media posts and verify their origin.

Must go out – is it necessary?

Consider carefully whether it is absolutely necessary for you to go out. If you decide to do so, dress in a tight outfit that covers the entire body and skin. Use, for example, rainwear. Use a respirator, towel, or paper to prevent radioactive particles from entering the lungs. Upon returning, rinse the rain gear already outside (if possible). Take off all clothes in the hallway when entering, close off the hallway, and proceed to wash yourself thoroughly.

The City of Hämeenlinna prepares for various disruption situations as part of its normal safety work. Disruption and danger situations caused by drones have also been taken into account in preparedness, even though they are unlikely.

Act as follows during a possible drone threat

In a dangerous situation, authorities provide information about the danger and instructions for protection. The City of Hämeenlinna follows the authorities’ instructions and refines its own communication based on them as needed. In a dangerous situation, the goal of the city’s communication is to inform how the situation affects the city’s services and to provide residents with clear instructions for action.

Act as follows in a dangerous situation:

• Go indoors immediately
• Stay in the central parts of the building under the protection of walls that are as strong as possible
• Stay away from windows and doors
• If you cannot get indoors, seek a place that is as sheltered as possible
• Do not go near the drone
• Follow the authorities’ communication

If you find a fallen drone:

• Do not touch the drone
• Move at least 150 metres away
• Call 112 and follow the instructions of the emergency response centre
• Warn others moving in the area
• Strive to prevent access to the vicinity of the drone
• Do not share the location or images on social media

Even if an official warning has not been given, drone observations should be treated with caution. If you see or hear a potentially dangerous drone or explosions, move quickly to shelter if necessary and follow the authorities’ instructions.

City services in a disruption situation caused by a drone threat

In disruption situations, the city’s services function normally as a rule, however, taking into account the authorities’ instructions and possible emergency warnings. The city has defined critical functions that are secured also in disruption situations caused by drones. Usually, the duration of a drone threat situation is a few hours, and if the situation is prolonged, the city will communicate about the functioning of services.

The city communicates about changes related to its services and supplements the authorities’ information on its own communication channels. The city’s primary communication channel is the website www.hameenlinna.fi, and in addition, information is shared on the city’s social media channels (Facebook and Instagram). Information regarding early childhood education and basic education services is communicated to guardians via mass text messages. If necessary, communication is supplemented through Päikky and Wilma.

Information on preparing for a drone threat can be found on the Rescue Services website www.pelastustoimi.fi/drooniuhka. We recommend familiarising yourself with the instructions and downloading the 112 application so that you receive any emergency warnings.

The City of Hämeenlinna works in close cooperation with the rescue authorities and the Oma Häme wellbeing services county.