Estonia to create a 5,000-person crisis reserve of volunteers

The Interior Ministry intends to modify existing law to establish a crisis reserve of nearly 5,000 volunteers drawn from rescue teams, coast guard, bomb-disposal units and volunteer police. The change would give these volunteers the right to paid leave and job protection when summoned for emergencies such as natural disasters, terrorism or conflict. Adviser Kristen Kanarik explained that the reserve would operate on a government decision basis and include training similar to that of Estonian Defence Forces reservists.

The Rescue Board (Päästeamet) plans to add roughly 500 former rescue staff and recruit additional members of the public, providing them with specific crisis-role training and social-security guarantees. The initiative aims to bolster the country's capacity to respond to large-scale incidents like forest fires or floods.