Innovations by the Helsinki City Rescue Department recognised

Helsinki City Rescue Department received two innovation awards.

Magnetic depth limiter for chainsaws or battery-powered saws
In building fires in blocks of flats, a ‘pet door’ is sawed into the door of the target flat during the fire attack tackling the fire to prevent smoke from spreading into the stairwell. When sawing a pet door using a conventional battery-powered saw or chainsaw, there has been a risk that the entire saw flange pushes through the door. This has led to hazardous incidents where a person inside the dwelling has unexpectedly arrived at the front door of the dwelling during the sawing.
The magnets of the innovative depth limiter are mounted in a pre-drilled hole in the saw flange.

The innovation is made of neodymium magnet, which allows the magnet to grip the flange of a battery-powered saw or chainsaw with a 31-kilogram-force. The magnets prevent the saw flange from being pushed all the way through the door. The innovation has been in use at the Helsinki City Rescue Department since 2023.

"The magnetic chainsaw depth limiter is ingenious in its simplicity. It increases customer safety and is affordable and functional. What else do you need from a good innovation?" says Petri Strandberg, member of the working group.

Live broadcast case "Lisa"
Arranging for live broadcasts often requires specific expertise, time and the help of external production companies. The "Lisa" live broadcast case makes it easier for rescue services to set up live broadcasts.

“Lisa” is a set of live broadcasting equipment that has all the technology needed for broadcasting built into a case that is easy to transport and use. The live broadcasting equipment comes with a camera, monitor, recording device, backup power, transmission unit and connections to external sources. The equipment is connected directly to the transport case.

The live broadcast case is designed to be easy to use for anyone with basic ICT skills: all devices start centrally at the touch of a button. One person is enough to operate the live broadcast case. With the help of the live broadcast case, the broadcast can be transmitted simultaneously to several different platforms and the broadcasting systems of Finland's largest media operators.

The live broadcast case has been designed in collaboration with the professional media company Mediatrade Oy. The Helsinki City Rescue Department has been using the live broadcast case since autumn 2024.

"Innovation, ideas and inventions are born from the courage to experiment. You can't always succeed. But if you embrace failure, you can make a real difference in the world. On the other hand, innovation also requires creativity. You need to stop and think for something new to emerge. When there is time to think, something creative, something new, is born. In the end, it's all about the trust of the supervisors and their ability to make room for thinking. All of this results in innovations that enable the rescue department to employ modern work methods and to keep with the times," says Antti Salminen.

First place to wildfire innovation
Markku Hassinen's extinguishing and containment line for wildfires won first place. The invention is based on a novel method in which a line for extinguishing and containing wildfires is installed from a cart towed by an off-road vehicle. The process is automated to a great degree. At the heart of the innovation are the hose baskets developed by Hassinen that can be placed in a wildfire cart. A single hose basket can be used to set up roughly 500 metres of restriction or trunk line.

European patent applications have been filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) for the operation of the sprinkler, the operating principle of the cart and the method they enable.

Second place went to Timo Dadu’s ‘Twin Trailer.’ It is a double-deck transport trailer that allows two water rescue vehicles, such as a water jet and a rubber boat, to be transported simultaneously to the scene.
Petri Koikkalainen's ‘Äläkkä Saunavahti’ sauna guard came in shared third place. ‘Äläkkä’ is a sauna safety device that alerts you if you stay in the sauna past a predetermined time period.

What is the Innovation Award?
The purpose of the Innovation Award is to encourage rescue personnel and others interested in the sector to develop new, more efficient and safer equipment, operating procedures and working methods, and to improve the visibility and recognition of the rescue sector in society at large.

The award may be presented to an innovation that has made a significant contribution to the above objectives. The innovation may be developed by a company, community or individual. The award is not a lifetime achievement award.

The Fire Protection Fund gives out the award every year.