Estonia’s rescue service lacks more than 100 employees — ERR News

In Estonia, the Rescue Department needs more than 100 employees to fully staff its teams, said the agency’s deputy director, Martin Lambing. Officially, the service has 34 unfilled vacancies, but the actual staffing need exceeds 100 people, ERR News reports.

Staff shortage

According to Lambing, additional personnel are needed to fully staff four-person rescue teams and three-person explosive ordnance disposal groups. The officially vacant positions include rescuers and team leaders, who have higher qualifications to manage complex rescue operations.

Lambing noted that due to the staff shortage, teams sometimes work with workloads that may be twice the standard level. In his view, this doubles the risks for both employees and the public.

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Salaries and staff training

Estonia’s newly announced state budget for 2027 provides for an increase in firefighters’ monthly salary by 48 euros, to 1,654 euros. Lambing called the increase positive given the cost of living, but insufficient, as the gap between firefighters’ pay and the country’s average salary is widening, he said.

He considers a salary level of 1.2 times Estonia’s average wage to be fair, given the risks and responsibility of the job. Lambing also stressed that firefighters’ work and civil protection are part of national defense. According to him, the departure of experienced employees would create security risks, as they undergo complex and lengthy training.

Estonia currently has 1,700 professional firefighters and more than 3,000 volunteers.