2.2.6 Estonia

Introduction

Two leaders from volunteer organisations and three authorities replied to the questionnaire, and one of the authorities which work closely with volunteers participated in an in-depth interview. The volunteer organisations represent volunteer fire brigades and the Estonian Rescue Association. Both volunteer organisations work at the national and municipal level. The authorities represent state and regional levels and are from the rescue and emergency services, the police and the Border Guard.

Both volunteer respondents indicated that they have an umbrella organisation. All three of the authorities know that the volunteers with whom they cooperate have umbrella organisations which are for volunteer rescuers, maritime rescuers and assistant police officers.

One of our best practices is the existence of an umbrella organisation for volunteer rescuers. Authority.

The volunteer organisations that contributed to the project have an average of 1 541 volunteers involved in civil protection tasks. One of the organisations has approximately twenty-five volunteers, but the other more than 3 000.

The prevalence of cooperation and contracts

In the questionnaire one volunteer leader rated their relationship with the authorities as good, while the other volunteer leader rated the relationship as quite bad. Correspondingly, all three authorities rated the relationship with volunteer organisations as very good or good.

We have frequent, daily communication with volunteers. Authority.

Both volunteer organisations cooperate with the rescue and emergency services. All three authorities indicated that they cooperate with volunteers or their organisations. Two of them cooperate with volunteer fire brigades or contract fire brigades; one of the authorities cooperates with the Sea Rescue Society and the Rescue Dogs and the other one cooperates with different NGOs.

Both volunteer organisations have contracts with the authorities. They have contracts with the rescue and emergency services and the police. Two of the three authorities replied that they have contracts with volunteer organisations or other entities that organise volunteers.

One volunteer organisation said that they are included in the authorities’ contingency plans for major disasters, but the other organisation did not know whether or not they were. All three authorities said that they include volunteers in their contingency plans for major disasters.

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, both volunteer organisations said that cooperation with the authorities has increased. For two of the three authorities their cooperation with volunteers has increased, for one authority it has decreased.

Volunteers’ tasks: together with and independently of the authorities Both volunteer organisations replied that they were involved in rescue tasks as well as in search and rescue activities, other prevention activities, such as providing general guidance to citizens in issues concerning safety, security, resilience and preparedness as well in firefighting, fire prevention and crisis communications during disasters or major emergencies.

All three authorities responded about tasks which involved volunteers during the period of the past three years. They have involved volunteers in rescue tasks (concerning people, property and the environment) and in other prevention activities. One of the authorities involved volunteers in crisis communications, in fire prevention and in firefighting, and one of the authorities involved volunteer organisations in support services and in supporting the everyday work of the police.

At the county level volunteers are led by the same people as professional rescuers. It works. Authority.

One volunteer respondent replied that their organisation does not carry out tasks independently of the authorities. However, the other organisation does carry out independent tasks, such as fire prevention, rescue tasks, search and rescue, prevention concerning rescue tasks other than fire prevention, and crisis communications during disasters or major emergencies.

Training available for volunteers and needs for improvement

One of the two volunteer organisations in Estonia that responded to the questionnaire provides training for volunteers in the field of civil protection – in fire prevention, other prevention and in crisis communications. However, when asked if they find the training of volunteers sufficient in their organisations in relation to their tasks/duties, they said that the training is not sufficient. They replied that in their opinion the following topics need more training to meet the requirements for the volunteers: other prevention (general guidance to citizens in safety, security, resilience and preparedness), support services (for example: temporary shelters, catering, clothing vulnerable persons, staff support, and in management support, like registration of units or incident documentation) and crisis communication.

One of the challenges is to have a clear and supportive system of training and further in-service training to increase the quality of the services provided by the volunteers. Authority

Two out of the three authorities provide training for volunteers in civil protection. One provides training in firefighting, in rescue tasks as well as in fire and other prevention (general guidance to citizens in safety, security, resilience and preparedness), and the other one provides search and rescue and support service training as well as the training required for working alongside the police.

Personal contacts and direct communication with volunteers are also important. Not only should you know what equipment the volunteers are missing but you should also know how their families are doing and what their other problems are. This improves trust and, in fact, sometimes protects the volunteer. Authority

When asked whether the authorities find the volunteer training to be sufficient in relation to their tasks, two of the authorities replied that they have sufficient training, but the third authority replied that their training is not sufficient. They indicated that the volunteers need more training in other prevention (general guidance to citizens in safety, security, resilience and preparedness) and in crisis communications during disasters or major emergencies.

Exercises with the authorities

The volunteer organisations and the authorities replied that they hold joint exercises with each other.

One of the best practices in Estonia is that we have annual volunteer rescue information days and seminars, annual two-day meetings for all volunteer rescuers in Estonia. Authority.

Recruiting and challenges of recruiting

The volunteer organisations and authorities which participated in the questionnaire responded that they do recruit volunteers for tasks in civil protection, and all of them indicated that they have difficulties in recruiting.

The recruitment challenges involve rural areas and the sustainability of volunteering. What can you offer to young people to make volunteering interesting? Authority.

Cooperation with spontaneous volunteers

Neither volunteer organisation cooperated with spontaneous volunteers in the past three years. One of the three authorities cooperated with spontaneous volunteers.

Funding sources and sufficiency of funding

Replying to how the volunteer organisations get their funding for tasks in civil protection, both organisations said that they get funding from the state (federation, regional agencies). One response mentioned each of the following funding sources: municipality, private donations and membership fees. One of them replied that the financial resources they have are not sufficient, but the other one said that they are sufficient.

Needs-based allocation of grants, technology and financial resources, taking into account the national perspective. Authority.

Volunteer funding: it is important to develop a clear service and participation funding system with the principle ‘the more you contribute, the more you

get’. The role of the state in financing volunteers, tax benefits for individuals, societies and local governments. Authority

Insurance practices

When asked if the volunteers in their organisation taking part in civil protection tasks are insured for potential damage or injuries that occur during or owing to these tasks, one organisation replied that they are, but the other one said that they are not. Both respondents replied that their state insurance (based on national legislation) covers injuries, work-related diseases and the death of a volunteer resulting from an incident. Neither organisation provides insurance for volunteers.

When asked if the authorities knew if the volunteers with whom they cooperate have insurance, two out of the three replied that they are insured, but the third respondent could not answer this question. Getting into specifics regarding the volunteers’ insurance, it was stated that they have two types of insurance which are: state insurance (based on national legislation) and personal insurance. Both insurance covers injuries, work-related diseases and death. However, they do not cover damage to property or to third parties. Both of the two authorities provide insurance for the volunteers with whom they cooperate.

International cooperation

Answering the question on whether they participate in international cooperation in the field of civil protection in the Baltic Sea Region, one out of the two volunteer organisations replied that they do, but the other one was not sure. The one that replied positively stated that cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region mainly takes place in search and rescue activities as well as in firefighting, rescue tasks, crisis communications and in fire and other prevention. Both organisations hold joint exercises with the authorities from the other Baltic Sea countries. One volunteer organisation holds joint exercises with other volunteer organisations from the Baltic Sea countries. One of the organisations has international cooperation which is based on legislation. Neither organisation carries out international cooperation through or with international organisations.

In the field of voluntary rescue there is not much international cooperation. We have once been in contact with volunteers from Denmark, Lithuania, Finland and Germany. But there is nothing on going. Authority.

All three authorities replied that they participate in international cooperation in the field of civil protection in the Baltic Sea Region. They cooperate in planning activities for cross-border disasters as well as in rescue tasks and crisis communications during disasters or major emergencies. One of the respondents replied that they cooperate in prevention other than fire prevention (general guidance to citizens in safety, security, resilience and preparedness) and in support services (i.e., temporary shelters, catering, clothing vulnerable persons, staff support, and in management support, like the registration of units or incident documentation).

It would support the volunteers if they were able to interact with foreign partners. Exchanging experiences and getting a broader view would be beneficial, but I do not think that just visiting other countries in person is very important. Rather, information exchanges and helping volunteers communicate with partners from abroad. It would also have a motivating effect. Authority.

One of the respondents holds joint exercises with volunteers from the other Baltic Sea countries. Their international cooperation is based on legislation and occurs via or with international organisations. The other respondents were unaware of the grounds for international cooperation or any prospects of doing it.

Biggest challenges involving volunteers

The respondents were given the possibility to share their opinion about the biggest challenge to increasing volunteer involvement in the field of civil protection in Estonia. Only one volunteer organisation gave a response and it was ‘sustainability’. The authorities provided the following responses: increasing the number of volunteer rescuers and the number of volunteer emergency responders in villages, municipalities and counties (there is a shortage of people in rural areas and urbanisation is taking place). Other challenges involve establishing a joint rescue network, the sustainability of voluntary rescue teams, the availability of adequate funding and the lack of information. The challenges also include linking a single rescue network with the professional rescue system using a flexible approach to the different volunteer associations, increasing the individual benefits of being a volunteer and increasing the benefits to the local community for supporting volunteering.