Most accidents involving water, humans and often alcohol in Ida-Viru County occur on inland bodies of water. However, in light of the principle "Harder drills, easier rescues," joint exercises were held on the waters of the Gulf of Finland, centered around Toila Harbor.

"Before the start of the summer period, we check whether all the components of our equipment meet the required standards and are in working order," said Nikolai Põld, head of rescue operations at the Eastern Regional Rescue Service.

The joint exercise included professional and volunteer rescuers as well as employees from the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) and the Environmental Board.

"The more parties involved, the more communication problems and aspects of cooperation arise that need refining and improvement," noted Janek Kuuse, deputy director of the Environmental Board's Virumaa Bureau. "Perhaps even the development of some new methodology. The more parties involved, the harder it is to organize the exercise."

Nonetheless, participants acknowledged that joint exercises are the best opportunity to share experiences.

"Everyone can learn from each other and learn a lot of new things," Põld highlighted. "And someone's usually better in one field, and can share their experience and skills — and that's what's great, in my opinion. We should do more exercises like this."

The weather was well suited to the recent exercise, being just windy enough to make rescue operations as challenging as possible without putting the participants' lives at risk.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!