The Estonian Rescue Board ( et, Päästeamet) is a government agency under the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

. It is tasked with maintaining a secure environment in Estonia, anticipating threats and helping people in the event of an accident. Its mission is to prevent accidents, save lives, property, and the environment. The organization provides a large number of services, including emergency response,

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typicall ...

, oil pollution removal,

explosive ordnance disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

, chemical and radiation hazard elimination, water rescue etc.

History

The predecessors of the Estonian Rescue Board were the Firefighting Administration under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, which was renamed the Fire Fighting Board of the Ministry of the Interior in 1990, and a separate civil defence organization. On September 10, 1991, the Civil Defence Staff was reformed into the National Rescue Board of the Republic of Estonia. The organization was officially established on May 25, 1992, with the liquidation of the State Fire Service Board and transferral of resources and tasks to the National Rescue Board. This move combined civil protection, firefighting and rescue operations under the domain of one organization. The establishment of the new organization was supported by new legislation in the form of the Civil Protection Act in 1992, and the Rescue Act of the Republic of Estonia in 1994. In 2012, the organization was restructured. The Alarm Center became an independent government agency and regional rescue centers were merged under the unified management of the Estonian Rescue Board.

Structure

The Estonian Rescue Board is led by a Director General, who is supported by Deputy Director Generals. The Deputy Director Generals help in leading the various departments of the Rescue Board, which develop, plan, manage and implement the activities of rescue centers. These departments include: emergency management department, rescue work department, explosive ordnance disposal ("EOD"), prevention department, safety supervision department, administrative department, human resource department, development department, legal department, finance department, communications department, and the

Estonian Firefighting Museum Estonian Firefighting Museum ( Estonian: ''Eesti Tuletõrjemuuseum'') is a museum in Tallinn devoted to introducing the historical heritage of firefighting in Estonia. The first volunteer fire department in Estonia was created in 1788, by the ...

. The Director General oversees the work of rescue centres. There are four rescue centers: North, South, East and West Regional Rescue Center. The rescue centers have various bureaus, which include the prevention bureau, safety supervision bureau, and preparedness bureau. Rescue centers also govern rescue regions, consisting of rescue brigades and stand-by groups. There are 72 national rescue brigades, 119 voluntary rescue brigades, and 4 EOD squads.

References

External links

* Law enforcement agencies of Estonia {{Estonia-stub

History

Structure

See also

References

External links