Gallery: First civil defense shelter in Narva marked with sign
The first seven civil defense shelters in the Northeastern Estonian border city of Narva were marked with signs bearing the international civil defense sign — a blue triangle on an orange background — on Thursday, beginning with a municipal administrative building located at Kerese 20.
The sign was installed late Thursday morning by Eastern Rescue Center director Ailar Holzmann and Narva Deputy Mayor Irina Smirnova, according to a press release.
"We all have to be prepared for a crisis, and establishing shelters for our people is one way to be prepared," Narva Mayor Katri Raik (SDE) said, thanking the Rescue Board for its cooperation.
According to Holzmann, the current number of civil defense shelters in the city isn't enough.
"The city government, apartment associations and business alike should find and convert more rooms that people could use in case of danger," he stressed.
Signs bearing the blue triangle on an orange background, the international symbol for civil defense, likewise used in Finland, for example, were installed on public civil defense shelters located in buildings owned by Narva city government.
Current locations include:
- Malmi 5a — Department of Social Assistance building
- Pimeaia 1 — Narva bastion tunnels
- Haigla 6 — administrative buildings
- Kerese 20 — administrative building
- Peetri plats 1 — Narva City Council building
- Peetri plats 3 — Department of Development and Economy building
- Peetri plats 5 — Narva city government building
An inspector from the Rescue Board inspected the suitability and technical conditions of each building.
Key attributes sought when choosing the locations of civil defense shelters include the shelter site being located underground, built of reinforced concrete and windowless. Shelters should be designated in locations where a lot of people may be out on the street or where there are a lot of structures around that are unsuitable for providing shelter.
Buildings' basements and underground parking lots, for example, can be used as shelters.
Holzmann noted that the cities of Rakvere and Sillamäe have already submitted their own lists of potential shelter sites to the Rescue Board, adding that hopefully all local governments will have designated their first civil defense shelters already before the year is out.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
