Only 60 percent of Finland’s civil defence shelters meet legal standards

Only 60 percent of Finland’s approximately 50,000 civil defence shelters are currently in the condition required by law, according to Yle, citing the Finnish Civil Defence Shelter Association.

Nearly six in 10 shelters lack a designated person responsible for their condition and readiness. The association is urging housing companies to appoint one.

Most of Finland’s civil defence shelters are located in residential and commercial properties, typically in basement storage areas or underground car parks. Their main purpose is to protect people from the pressure effects of explosions, shield them from toxic substances in the outside air, and provide clean air and water.

The association’s assessment found that about 30,000 shelters meet legal requirements. The estimate is based on reports from property managers about the condition of the shelters under their responsibility.

Legal responsibility for a shelter’s condition and readiness lies with the property owner, usually a housing company. In practice, housing companies have generally outsourced the work to property managers.

Ilkka Kivisaari, chair of the Finnish Civil Defence Shelter Association and chief executive of shelter construction company Verona Shelters Group, said housing companies should take more responsibility for their shelters.

“The housing company board should be more actively involved and consider how the shelter will be managed and maintained, and how to prepare for a situation in which it must be used,” Kivisaari said.

He said a property manager responsible for hundreds of shelters could not deal with all of them at once if an emergency occurred. The more shelters a property manager was responsible for, the less often the manager could confirm their condition.

Under normal circumstances, the person appointed by the housing company board would ensure that the shelter was operational and that its technical systems were checked regularly. In a crisis, that person would know how to prepare the shelter for use.

For example, a room used as a bicycle storage area in peacetime would need to be cleared of its contents after an airstrike warning, water containers would have to be filled, people brought inside, and the room eventually sealed and pressurised.

According to an instruction from the Ministry of the Interior, there are three days to make a civil defence shelter operational after an order to prepare it for use. People should also be able to live there for at least three days.

When in use, a civil defence shelter is airtight and pressurised. All incoming air passes through an activated carbon filter, and its structure must withstand airstrikes and possible building collapses.