Emergency response centres preparing for the school closing weekend

The coming weekend will see young people deservedly celebrate the end of the school year and the start of the summer holiday. For the emergency line, the school closing weekend is usually busier than a normal summer weekend.

The school closing weekend is marked by celebrations over the end of the school year and the start of the summer holiday all across Finland. Although most young people celebrate moderately and without incident, the start of the summer holiday is typically also heard on the emergency line. The tasks assigned to prehospital emergency care, the police, emergency social services and rescue services during the weekend traditionally have to do with substance use, disruptive behaviour, violence and the effects of alcohol in the form of different levels of alcohol poisoning and injuries. Emergency response centres traditionally prepare for the weekend by means of shift planning.

− “We have prepared for the higher demand compared to a normal weekend by concentrating staff shifts to the weekend, where possible,” says Head of the Command Centre Lasse Matilainen.

Anticipate and discuss

The Emergency Response Centre Agency would like to remind everyone that most emergencies could be avoided with effective anticipation. Adults and young people should discuss in advance where and with whom the evening will be celebrated and how to get home. Guardians should keep their phones on and answer any calls coming from unknown numbers; the caller could be an authority who is calling about your child.

− “Once an emergency response centre has assigned a task to an authority, they may try to call the person to whom the task relates or their guardian, for example. In this case, the call may come from an unknown or unlisted number.”

Young people should make sure that their phones are charged and that they have warm clothes with them. Friends should not be left alone, especially if they are intoxicated. Burning school books can result in a major wildfire or building fire, and driving an electric scooter under the influence often ends quite painfully. While celebrating, it is also worth remembering that violence does not make for a bright future.

Making an emergency call is the courageous thing to do

The Emergency Response Centre Agency would also like to remind everyone that making an emergency call never makes matters worse, whereas choosing not to make one may very well do so. Witnessing an assault, your friends doing dangerous stunts or a young person suffering from alcohol poisoning are examples of situations where young people may hesitate to intervene. The courageous thing to do is to help and make an emergency call.

Young people may also be nervous about talking to an unknown person on the phone and have doubts about whether they know how to make an emergency call. However, the fact is that you do not need to know exactly how to make an emergency call, and you can call the emergency number even if you have no balance left on your phone.

− “The most important thing is to be able to identify or suspect an emergency, call 112 and answer the ERC operator’s questions honestly,” Matilainen says.

For many schoolchildren and students, the upcoming weekend is the turning point of the year, being the start of the summer holiday and, perhaps, even a whole new chapter in life. As such, it is worth celebrating, while keeping safety in mind, of course. The Emergency Response Centre Agency congratulates all graduates and those whose school year is coming to an end!