The war with the russian aggressor continues in Ukraine. Like most cities and villages in our country, Kyiv is under constant threat of deadly shelling - rocket attacks, attack drones. With the sound of sirens, residents and visitors of the capital are forced (and must!) to take shelter to save their lives. This also applies to the staff and students of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Vadym Kondratiuk, Vice-Rector for Administrative Work, and Yurii Nesterenko, Head of the Civil Protection Department, told the Kyiv Polytechnic correspondent about the state of university shelters and staging areas, as well as the organization and conduct of civil protection exercises.
Yurii Nesterenko: "In preparing the simplest shelters at KPI, the Civil Protection Department adheres to the requirements of the relevant regulations of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. These regulations define how and what a shelter should be equipped with depending on the number of people in it. We are directly involved in the calculation of the relevant property, equipment, ordering and distribution of all means among the university departments where shelters are being equipped. The main task of our economic services is to bring the premises designated for the arrangement of the shelter in line with the requirements."
Vadym Kondratiuk: "As of November 17, the prepared and certified shelters can shelter 7300 students and teachers. By the end of the year, we plan to increase the number of places in the shelters (meaning shelters in academic buildings and campus dormitories) to 8 thousand people. That is, so many people can study and work on campus at the same time. Today, active work is underway to implement the program for further preparation of shelters. As for the dormitories, repairs have been made to the shelters of the 7th and 9th dormitories, and we are now moving on to the 13th dormitory. We are nearing the end of the work on the arrangement of the shelter in dormitory No. 4, where the floor is being painted. It should be noted that there were floods in this shelter, so we had to carry out preparatory work to replace the cold water supply network. For this project, the Ministry of Education and Science allocated UAH 1.7 million to Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute under the program for the repair and restoration of the simplest shelters in educational institutions. Upon completion of the work, the shelter will be certified, which will add another 500 seats to the university. We are currently working on creating shelters in the 17th and 20th buildings. The work on creating a smart shelter in the STL, in particular in the vestibules and corridor, is nearing completion - there are no deviations from the schedule, the work is planned to be completed in December this year. In general, a pilot project to create a dual purpose shelter is being implemented in STB. In wartime, this room can be used as a shelter with all communications, active and passive lighting and ventilation systems. And in peacetime, it will act as a hub with a work area for students, where they can hold lectures, discuss innovative developments and just have a good time. It will have rooms for rest, common areas, and even showers. The smart shelter at STB is designed for 500 people."
Yuriy Nesterenko: "Regarding the question of whether the number of places in certified shelters is sufficient for all students who can stay in dormitories and on full-time study. There are certain limitations that are determined not only by the capacity of the shelters. We have to keep in mind that when missiles arrive, the air defense system may not always be able to respond immediately, and, say, a ballistic missile arrives in a matter of minutes. It takes 10-15 minutes for everyone to get into a shelter designed for, say, 500 people. Therefore, the time for emergency evacuation adjusts the requirements for the number of higher education students who can be at the university at the same time. Starting in June, due to the strikes on the capital with ballistic missiles, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute analyzed the capabilities of university shelters, taking into account this factor. And the Academic Council of the university decided that in the fall semester, training in a number of specialties will be transferred to the stationary mode, in some others - to a mixed form, and the rest will remain in distance learning."
Vadym Kondratiuk: "As for the Unbreakable Points, we started setting them up last year. Now we are increasing their number. And now we are equipping the Indestructibility Points next to the shelters, first of all, because when the university is de-energized as a result of rocket attacks, the generators that work in the shelter will also perform their function in the Points. We are equipping these centers with heaters, bottled water, kettles, computer and office equipment, Internet, Wi-Fi - everything that is necessary for the smooth operation of the university in critical situations. As of today, the university has prepared 21 Unbreakable Points (10 on the campus and 11 in the academic buildings) that will function in case of blackouts. To ensure the normal operation of the simplest shelters and the Indestructibility Points, 34 generators were purchased, and fuel and lubricants were purchased for them. All of them have been tested. This year, we took into account the experience and knowledge we gained last year in organizing the functioning of the Indestructibility Points, which allowed us to make certain adjustments to the organization of their work."
Yuriy Nesterenko: "To ensure the functioning of the university's civil protection system, the management, administration and university staff responsible for the maintenance of shelters and Indestructibility Points must undergo appropriate training at city civil protection courses. We cooperate with these courses, determine the needs of each unit and form an annual application for training. We send our employees to the courses according to the approved schedule."
Vadym Kondratiuk: "With the participation of representatives of the State Emergency Service, training was held for KPI students and employees. We are preparing regional exercises on actions in emergency situations that may arise in the event of rocket attacks and UAV attacks - 20 representatives of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute will take part in them."