The joint safety exercise involved Gradia, Jamk University of Applied Sciences, the police, the rescue services, emergency medical services, Central Finland's social and crisis emergency services, and the rescue operations. Besides the training of the educational institutions, this time a particularly important part was the mutual training of the authorities together with the educational institutions.
'The exercise comprehensively tested the cooperation of the participants and each actor's ability to manage an emergency situation and cooperate with others,' says Commissioner Jari Lindholm from the Central Finland Police Department.
'Training is beneficial and a normal part of school life at Gradia. The exercise is not a performance of excellence, but above all, its task is to highlight things that have not been noticed to prepare for or things that need improvement. The exercise was very successful,' says Gradia's Safety Manager Erkki Mäntymaa.
'From the perspective of Central Finland's social and crisis emergency services, the joint exercise with other authorities and the region's major educational institutions was very important and increased our ability to act together in various disruption situations,' says Service Manager Elina Huttunen from Central Finland's social and crisis emergency services.
'An exercise that is planned and implemented together with the authorities is the best way to develop safety. Psychosocial support after the actual event is a very important area, and this was also practiced together with the Wellbeing Services County's social and crisis emergency services,' states Administrative Director Mikko R. Salminen.
The objectives of the exercise were to detect emergency situations and report them, authority communication, action according to command relationships, the operation of the educational institutions' safety management, and the mutual communication between the educational institutions' safety management and the Music Campus situation management.
The exercise was also clearly visible on Pitkäkatu, where there were numerous police, rescue service, and emergency medical service vehicles. Residents of the nearby area, all Gradia students and their families, all Jamk staff and students, and the general public were informed about the upcoming exercise to prevent unnecessary concern.
