News and bulletins
Director General Taito Vainio: our reliability will be maintained in all circumstances
Taito Vainio started his second five-year term as the Director General of the Emergency Response Centre Agency in early March. In the coming years, his work will be characterised by the challenges arising from the changes in the operating environment.
Task prioritisation makes it possible to provide help in acute emergencies
The Emergency Response Centre Agency’s guidelines for handling prehospital emergency care tasks were revised at the end of November 2023. The change is reflected in the number of tasks assigned to prehospital emergency care and in their priority distribution.
2024 in review
The Emergency Response Centre Agency’s financial statements for 2024 are complete. The service level of emergency response centre (ERC) operations remained good, even though we were not able to meet all our performance targets. During 2024, absences due to illness decreased and the work load was evened out. Customer confidence and satisfaction in ERC operations remained high.
Record number of emergency calls interpreted
The growth in the foreign-language population is reflected in the number of interpreted emergency calls. The demand for Ukrainian interpretation, for example, has increased significantly over the past few years.
Statistics on the emergency number 112
In 2024, the Emergency Response Centre Agency received an average of 7,600 emergency calls every day. Of these calls, 1,600 should not have been made to the emergency response centre. Roughly one half of the calls were passed on to authorities while the other half were handled by the emergency response centre operator through guidance and advice. The average time in which an emergency call was picked up was seven seconds.
How to instruct different target groups in calling the emergency number
The 112 Day campaign has issued instructions on calling the emergency number for the general public as well as children and young people, older people and foreign-language speakers. Learn more about the instructions and make use of the associated materials.
Guide on how to prepare for incidents and crises now available in the 112 Suomi app
The preparedness guide intended for the general public contains instructions on how to prepare for emergency conditions and what to do during them. The guide is now available in the 112 Suomi mobile app.
The emergency number provides safety for children
Teaching children how to use the emergency number correctly is a safety action. It is important to talk to children about identifying emergencies and encourage them to report an emergency.
Emergency number emphasised in different ways to different target groups
The 112 Day is a nationwide campaign aimed at raising Finnish people’s awareness of the emergency number 112 and how to recognise emergencies. When it comes to 112 training, it is a good idea to consider the characteristic behaviour and understanding of the target group. For example, it is advisable to emphasise different things to children and young people than older people, immigrants and foreign nationals.
Meeting a person is the core of the work of an ERC operator
While technology keeps evolving, emergency response centre services will continue to be provided first and foremost by humans to humans. This requires social interaction skills and the self-awareness to identify your reactions and limit stress.