Thanks to Finland’s Ministry of the Interior, the EU-funded CREXDATA project has been able to test, develop, and validate technological tools for improved emergency management for rescue services.
The Department for Rescue Services at the Ministry has been involved in Weather Emergency Use Case as a connector between the administration and the end-users. Through this task, the Ministry has actively supported the collaboration between CREXDATA end-users by enabling direct engagement during the Weather‑Induced Emergencies use case.
Cohesion to improve joint efforts
The Ministry has also participated in cohesion activities to increase synergies. In June 2025, it organized a technology workshop together with TEMA project (Trusted Extremely Precise Mapping and Prediction for Emergency Management) during Fire and Rescue field’s Research and Development Days in Finland. The CREXDATA Weather Emergency team demonstrated innovative technologies for managing critical situations. As part of a hands-on, practice-oriented fair, users were able to test project results in realistic scenarios and provide valuable feedback.
Demonstrations included the geo-referenced early warning system ARGOS, further developed within the project; a tool for predicting emergency call hotspots during extreme weather events; fatigue prediction for emergency personnel through biometric data analysis using explainable AI; and augmented reality at the scene of operations.
The successful demonstration underscored the need to develop practical, data-intensive solutions for protecting people, safeguard critical infrastructure, and ensure effective crisis management during extreme weather events.
Emergency Services Academy and CREXDATA Advance Decision Support for Weather-Related Emergencies
The Emergency Services Academy organized the 23rd Major Incident Command Exercise in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior. The exercise brought together around 100 participants from the Ministry, rescue services, government agencies, and partner organizations. The focus was on cooperation within rescue service collaboration areas, national-level leadership, and joint operations—building a shared understanding and harmonizing practices. The exercise provides new ideas and methods to develop operations and improve the quality of incident command in rescue services.
As part of the exercise, the Weather Emergency Use Case team tested the adaptability of its demonstrator to other weather-related emergency scenarios. During selected realistic scenarios, CREXDATA processed data from the exercise and presented aggregated information as interactive maps to commanders, along with explanatory insights to support decision-making. Key CREXDATA technologies showcased included Text Mining for Event Extraction, UAV robotic simulation, and fatigue assessment using explainable AI (XAI). In addition, the Finnish Meteorological Institute demonstrated its gradient boosting machine-learning model, which integrates real-time weather forecasts to provide municipality-level impact and risk predictions—helping emergency services anticipate storm damage and other weather-related challenges.
Feedback from participants confirmed that these technologies were perceived as valuable and effective in supporting decision-making. The results indicate that such solutions can enhance operational efficiency not only in wildfire and flood scenarios but across a broader range of emergency contexts.
