The Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) () was the central supervisory

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

for the

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

services in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

until 2008, after which it merged into the newly formed

Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency is a Swedish administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for issues concerning civil protection, public safety, emergency management and civil defence. Res ...

on 1 January 2009. It promoted

emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

practice that improved disaster prevention and response, and in the event of an incident/accident limited injury and damage. This was achieved among other ways by conveying information, by running training courses and holding exercises, and through supervision. Swedish Rescue Services Agency plate

Government function

The SRSA was the central

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

supervisory government authority for the rescue services. Its tasks included examining co-ordination between the various branches of the national rescue services, as well as contingency planning by the county administrative boards for the rescue services in the event of a release of radioactive substances. The agency also collated observations and lessons learned from serious emergencies that have occurred at home or abroad. Its tasks included examining co-ordination between the various branches of the state rescue services, as well as the county administrative boards' planning for the rescue services in the event of a release of

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

substances. The agency gained experience from major incidents that have occurred in Sweden and worldwide. The SRSA developed methods and equipment for use by the rescue services, and was responsible for the training of all personnel in the

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

fire and rescue service brigades and in the

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who inspects then clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combust ...

ing service. The agency also implemented rules for safety in relation to the

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

, and co-ordinated the work of the supervisory authorities within this field.

Domestic expertise

In the event of

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

, equipment from one of the agency’s five oil-combating depots may be used. The agency also had seven depots holding equipment and trained personnel for use when responding to

chemical emergencies A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous chemicals, which could harm human health and the environment. Such events include fires, explosions, and release of toxic materials that may cause people illness, injury, or ...

. Furthermore, the government had an agreement with six municipalities, which states that they are to assist the

Swedish Maritime Administration The Swedish Maritime Administration () is the government agency in Sweden which provides services to the transport sector by keeping the sea lanes open and safe. The agency is to a certain degree financed through fees levied on commercial shippin ...

and the

Swedish Coast Guard The Swedish Coast Guard () is a Sweden, Swedish civilian Government agencies in Sweden, government agency tasked with: * maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea. * co-o ...

with emergency operations at sea.

Overseas operations

The SRSA maintained a state of emergency preparedness to assist other countries with rescue and

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

operations. The majority of personnel employed on such assignments were recruited from the municipal fire & rescue services. The SRSA was a prominent actor in

mine action Mine action is a combination of humanitarian aid and development studies that aims to remove land mine, landmines and reduce the social, economic and environmental impact of them and the Unexploded ordnance, explosive remnants of war (ERW). The Int ...

and

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fu ...

for development.

Organisation

The central administration offices for the Swedish Rescue Services Agency were situated in

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 67,122 inhabitants in 2020 with 97,233 inhabitan ...

. Their four colleges were located at

Revingeby Revinge ( ) is a locality situated in Lund Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the ...

Rosersberg Palace Rosersberg Palace () is one of the Crown palaces in Sweden, royal palaces of Sweden. Situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, on the outskirts of Stockholm, it was built in the 1630s by the Oxenstierna family and became a royal palace in 1762, whe ...

, Sandö and

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden. Skövde is situated around 150 k ...

provided the training for all the personnel in the municipal fire & rescue services and in the chimney sweeping service. The agency had its main office in

and its offices for overseas operations in

Kristinehamn Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 24,053 inhabitants in 2022. Geography Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake Vänern where the small rivers ''Varnan'' and ''Löt'' ...

Restructuring

On 18 March 2008 the Swedish government made a decision to restructure its peace-time emergency management agencies. As part of this decision, the SRSA, the Swedish Emergency Management Agency, and the Swedish National Board of Psychological Defence were dissolved at the end of 2008. The

replaced the previous three bodies.Press release
Swedish government

References

External links

Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
- Official website {{Ministry of Defence (Sweden) Raddningsverket Emergency services in Sweden