After 22 years in the fire service you like to think you’ve seen it all, especially because for the past 6 years I’ve been working to innovate services provided directly on-site to fire departments. But I saw something on a recent trip to Finland that made me pause, look around and ask myself, what if we’ve been doing this wrong?
What was supposed to be a routine business trip; jump on a plane, sit through meetings/pitches, tour facilities, have nice dinners and fly back home turned into something much more impactful – an experience that I hope to spread and will try to do justice sharing throughout this blog.
Aside from some really innovative fire service technology, some of the nicest people in the world and great food, what I saw in Finland was a firefighter culture second to none when it comes to health and safety and education in world class decontamination practices – something that raised the bar and we should strive for here in the US.
How This All Began: The Esteri Group
The primary reason for my trip to Finland was to see first hand how the Hosemaster™ was disrupting on-site testing services for fire departments. I had seen videos of this amazing machine but similar to our Mobile Extraction Units™ this just had to be experienced with a live demo, especially if this product is going to be provided through our network of mobile Operators.
The Esteri Group went above and beyond to make sure the trip was nothing short of amazing. Being a career firefighter, running a business and having two kids makes finding time for Vacations a little difficult so when they said I could bring my daughter with me it meant the world! Being able to bring her to a new country and experience a new culture is something we’ll cherish forever. The Esteri Group wanted to make sure we not only saw their product but also saw how the fire service works over there, so we toured multiple departments and met so many amazing firefighters.
Redefining Decon
As part of our time together, the Esteri team arranged a tour of the Kuusisto Fire Department and from the moment I walked through the doors it was clear this was no ordinary station. Every square foot of this station was designed with the health of firefighters as the priority.
The station was spotless, I actually would have eaten off the floors if someone had offered. A 20 year old apparatus looked nearly new and every piece of equipment had a designated home that was meticulously organized. The pride these firefighters took in the commitment they had to their health and safety was unlike anything I had seen. I hear firefighters talk about things a lot but this time I actually saw firefighters doing what they talked about.
It was really the dedicated space for decon that struck me as something that departments in the US could begin to emulate. These stations had entire spaces dedicated for the purpose of decontamination, not just a utility sink and a single washer/dryer in the corner of a coat closet.
Kuusisto FD had 5 distinct decon spaces as part of their station design.
1. Apparatus Wash Bay:
The decon corridor begins directly off the truck wash bay. All dirty equipment from an incident enters the process here, nothing contaminated moves deeper into the station.
2. Hot Room-Gross Decon:
The first dedicated room connects directly to the outside. All soiled gear, equipment and SCBA returning from fires enters here. The room contains a soak tank and a full equipment rinse station.
3. PPE & Gear Cleaning Room:
A state-of-the-art room housing multiple gear extractors, a uniform washer and dryer, a personnel shower, an SCBA washer, a sanitization cabinet, and a large drying room. Firefighters drop all gear, then immediately shower before crossing to the clean side.
4. Equipment & Small Gear Room:
A third room dedicated to cleaning all tools and equipment used at the incident — ensuring every item is decontaminated and inspected before being returned to service.
5. Station Sauna:
The station sauna is used as an active decontamination tool. The protocol: shower to remove surface contamination, enter the sauna to sweat out carcinogens, then shower again. Science-backed, culturally ingrained, and remarkably effective.
This is what top down commitment to firefighter health looks like, a holistic approach that tackles prevention. We have a lot to learn, I don’t mean that as a criticism because after decades on the job I know there is a lot we do extremely well, I mean that as a challenge. We should challenge ourselves to be the best at everything and set an example. Right now as far as I’m concerned the example is being set by departments like Kuusisto.
Training Hard
After being impressed with the station tour, I thought there is no way I could continue to be this impressed but I was wrong. I had the privilege of watching the crew at Kuusiston train and like their quarters these men and women operated with precision and intention. They trained hard, moved with purpose and prepared for a wide range of scenarios.
Their approach is a reminder that safety culture is not built in the station, it is built on the training grounds.
Technology Spotlight
And then there was the machine that brought me all the way to Finland, The Hosemaster™ by Esteri Group. This is the most impressive piece of fire service equipment I have seen, it is the world’s first fully automatic hose care system.
The Hosemaster™ is a fully robotic system that performs every critical step of post-incident hose management simultaneously and automatically. What once required significant labor and tons of floor space now is handled with a single machine.
The Hosemaster™ washes, automatically tests and marks leaks, has a high capacity drying system, automatic coiling, logs the entire process and takes up minimal space! This entire machine shortens turnaround time, getting the hose back in service faster while ensuring it has been cleaned and tested (sound familiar?).
What makes this so appealing to me and why it holds a special place in my heart is because the Hosemaster is also available on a mobile platform! Just like our MEU’s and MRU’s.
Looking Ahead
The biggest takeaway from Finland is not new technology or new policies, it’s a new mindset. In Finland, firefighter health and safety is not a program you add to, it is the foundation everything is built on top of. From the way the stations are designed, to how they train and how they relax.
This trip showed me that our mission as a business isn’t some far fetched impossible goal that just sounds good to customers, it’s an attainable goal that if we work hard enough we can achieve. Because I have seen what is possible and I am excited to now spread this mindset with everyone.
To the crew and leadership at Kuusisto Fire Department, thank you for opening your station, sharing your training, and showing us what a first-class firefighter safety culture looks like in practice. You raised the bar for what we should all be aspiring to.
To the Esteri Group – Antti Kalliomaki, Iivari Kalliomaki, Annina Kivimaki, and Emil Kalliomaki – thank you so much for welcoming us and giving us an inside look at your operations and amazing business. We can’t wait to work more closely with you in the near future!
And to my daughter, thank you for making this adventure one I will never forget.
