In Sweden, 37 people spent the night in a bunker during drills — The Local Sweden
In the municipality of Grums in western Sweden, 37 volunteers spent the night in a concrete bunker during the country’s first exercise involving an overnight stay in an air-raid shelter. The aim was to observe people’s behavior in an enclosed space and collect data that could make staying in a shelter more comfortable if necessary.
According to The Local Sweden, the participants arrived at the shelter near a nursing home in Grums with sleeping bags. The volunteers included a firefighter, a pensioner, and a secretary. Before entering, they asked whether the armored doors would be fully closed and how oxygen levels would be measured.
Testing conditions in the shelter
The organizers divided the volunteers into ten groups. One of the first tests involved moving a man in a wheelchair down a steep flight of stairs: he was transferred onto a stretcher and carefully lowered into the bunker. Grums deliberately invited people with different characteristics to test the difficulties that could arise during a real emergency.
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Project manager Therese Rosenblad explained that the exercise was intended to assess people’s reactions, the temperature in the room, and carbon dioxide levels. According to her, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 made Sweden more attentive to potential risks and public preparedness.
Oxygen was supplied manually
During the night, the volunteers took turns turning a green handle to supply oxygen to the room. After the participants had settled in, one of them fainted. The air in the bunker, built nearly 60 years ago, was described as heavy. The lights were switched off at 22:00, and a garbage bin was used as an improvised toilet.
The participants’ collected impressions are to be included in a study that will be submitted to the Ministry of Defence. After the overnight stay, one volunteer said the conditions were “not so bad,” but expressed hope that such a situation would not have to be experienced in reality.
