Metropolia – a safe place to study and work in
Student and staff wellbeing is important for us at Metropolia. We want to offer our students and staff a safe and pleasant environment to study and work in. We engage in comprehensive and preventive safety work to reach this target. We all play a key role in this work, as safety is a matter that concerns us all.
The President is ultimately in charge of safety issues, assisted by the safety management and a group of safety officers. We all have a duty to help maintain safety, report of any dangers, threats and accidents and to do our best to limit damage and rescue anyone who may be in danger.
How to act in accident and danger situations
For the purpose of general safety, all Metropolia students and members of staff should know their immediate tasks in an accident situation.
In addition to the guidelines on how to act in case of an accident, Metropolia’s campuses follow the procedural guidelines concerning safety at each property, taking into account each campus’s specialisation field.
This page contains a condensed compilation of basic instructions to be used in potential accident and danger situations.
Inform others always of any situation that may be dangerous. You can also do this online athd.metropolia.fi.
Emergency numbers
- Emergency number tel. 112
- Police tel. 112
- Telephone Health Service tel. 09 100 23
- Poison Information Centre tel. 09 471 977
- Finnish association for mental health of crisis telephone 010 195 202
Instructions for making an emergency call
If you detect a dangerous situation that threatens people’s lives, health or property or the environment, call the general emergency number 112 and notify the matter immediately to the caretakers of the property in question or other members of Metropolia staff.
Building evacuation in an emergency
- Evacuation is led and directed by persons responsible for safety appointed for the premises and by safety supervisors. Lecturers attend to the evacuation of their own groups.
- Shut windows and doors, turn off lights, ventilation and air conditioning and electrical equipment.
- Take only the necessary clothing with you.
- People must be evacuated through the marked emergency exits to a designated meeting place.
- It is forbidden to use elevators.
- The person in charge of safety at the property should be the last to leave.
How to act in case of a fire
Rescue
- rescue yourself and people in danger
- avoid inhaling smoke (it is extremely toxic)
- direct people inside the building to the nearest exit
- do not use an elevator in case of fi re
- go to the meeting point
Notifying
- call the general emergency number 112
- tell the operator who you are, where there is a fire (address and floor), what is burning and
- whether there are people in danger
- do not hang up the phone until given permission to do so
- also notify the caretakers
Extinguishing
- grab the nearest fi re extinguisher and begin extinguishing the fire immediately (do not put your life at risk)
- do not spray water onto objects with an electric current or burning liquids
- spray the extinguishing substance at the base of the flames with a back-and-forth motion, moving from the front of the fire to the back and from the top of the flames to the bottom
- stop spraying once the flames have died out
Prevention
- prevent the fi re from spreading by closing doors and windows
- remove flammable objects and materials from near the fire
- protect sensitive and important machinery and equipment from
- water and other damage
Guiding
- organise guidance for the fire department to the site of the fire
- help the fire department if requested to do so
If evacuating the building is not possible
- call the general emergency number and tell your name, location and what has happened
- go to a safe area
- close all doors and windows
- block door cracks with clothes or something similar in order to prevent smoke from coming in
- if you smell smoke, breathe through a wet cloth, if possible
How to act in case of an accident or sudden attack of illness
Make a quick assessment of the situation
- find out what has happened
- is the victim or patient awake
- is he or she breathing?
Begin first aid on the patient, call the emergency number 112
When making the emergency call, tell the operator
- what has happened (as accurately as possible)
- the address and floor when the incident took place
- how rescuers will be guided
- who you are
Note
- Do not hang up the phone until given permission to do so
- Organise guidance for the rescuers to the site
- Do not leave the patient alone
How to act in a threatening situation
if you meet a threatening person
- Protect yourself, assess the situation
- Call for help, if necessary; be calm and realistic
- Do not move too close to the threatening person and respect their personal space
- Speak clearly and briefly; do not disagree with and avoid staring at the threatening person
- Keep your hands visible
- Do not belittle the threatening person or the situation
- It is preferable that you are flexible rather than uncompromising
- Do not turn your back
- Avoid sudden movements
- Do not provoke or get provoked
- If the situation becomes violent, call the emergency number 112, save those who are in danger, if possible, warn others and protect yourself
If you notice anyone acting in a suspicious manner – for example, threatening with violence, being obsessed with violence or weapons or talking about self-destruction – discuss your observations with a member of staff, such as a student psychologist, a curator, health care staff, the persons in charge of safety at your property or the safety manager.
If you receive a verbal or written threat or find out about a threat on the internet, whether it is personal or directed at Metropolia, contact Metropolia’s staff without delay.
How to act in a theft or robbery situation
- remain calm, do not resist the robber
- do not be a hero
- memorise the robber’s features
- pay attention to the robber’s method of escape and any accomplices
- call for help as soon as it can be done safely
How to act in case of a power cut
- notify the caretakers
- remain calm, the back-up lighting will remain on
- if you are stuck in an elevator, press the alarm button in the elevator and wait calmly
- switch off devices that may suffer damage when power is restored
How to act if there is a burning liquid or gas leak
- notify the matter to the emergency response centre by calling 112 and/or contact the caretakers
- do not switch any electrical equipment on or off in the leak area
- close the main gas shut-off valves, if possible
- prevent people from entering the area of the leak
- forbid people from smoking or handling fi re in the vicinity
- evacuate all people from the property, if necessary
- guide the fi re department to the site
Public alarm signal
An alarm given in special situations and emergencies (major accident, radiation accident).
The alarm is intended to warn the population of imminent danger. It takes the form of a minute-long sound signal composed of an ascending and descending tone or an alert broadcast by the authorities. The ascending and descending tones each last 7 seconds at a time.
The all-clear signal is a minute-long continuous single-pitch sound. It indicates that the threat or danger is over.
When you hear the public alarm siren
- move indoors and stay there
- close all doors, windows, ventilation holes and air conditioning equipment
- block all openings using, for example, plastic fi lm or adhesive tape
- switch on the radio and calmly wait for instructions
- avoid using the phone so as not to block telephone lines
- do not leave the area until told to do so by the authorities
Crisis Procedures at Metropolia
Situations that trigger crisis procedures may be, for example:
- traumatic events related to teaching or supervised training
- violence or threat of violence (in cases of violence, always fi rst contact the person in charge of safety in the unit in question)
- accidents that unsettle the mental wellbeing of people
- death of student of member of staff
- collective catastrophes and accidents.
Metropolia’s crisis team consists of social workers and student psychologists. Crisis work at Metropolia is also carried out by student health nurses, Metropolia’s priests and, whenever necessary, other staff trained for crisis work.
Crisis work is always carried out based on what the needs are in any given situation. Crisis services at Metropolia is planned, guided and coordinated by a multidisciplinary crisis management team.
The Crisis Team
The crisis team members can be contacted at their Metropolia telephone numbers or email addresses or in acute cases at +358 40 172 1863 (Mon to Fri from 10 am to 2 pm).
Informing others in an accident situation
The Director of Communications is responsible for communicating information on behalf of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences to staff, students, the authorities, people in the vicinity, next of kin and the media, in accordance with the guidelines issued by Metropolia’s safety management team.
Communications during rescue operations are the responsibility of the authority in charge of the operations.