Emergency Cooling Shelter for Cities and Civil Protection Authorities
Inflatable, climate-controlled emergency shelter designed to protect health and provide relief during extreme heat events.
As heat waves become more frequent and severe, protecting public health and supporting frontline personnel requires fast, highly adaptable climate management. Designed to provide heat relief for citizens in dense urban environments and recovery space for firefighters and other emergency personnel, this mobile infrastructure delivers high-capacity cooling precisely where and when it is needed.
Built on decades of specialised air beam manufacturing expertise, the unit is delivered as a complete, turnkey solution: an inflatable structural shelter integrated with a high-efficiency climate control unit. The system is designed for operational agility, allowing straightforward transport, deployment within minutes, and simple teardown.
The organisations using these shelters can rely on fast, expert-built support wherever conditions demand it.
Key Value Highlights
-
Mobility and Deployment: Compact to store and transport, the shelter inflates within 10 to 15 minutes and packs away just as easily. One person can set it up; two are recommended.
-
Proven Air Beam Engineering: Manufactured by industry veterans with extensive experience in structural pneumatics, built for durability in demanding conditions. CPE Suojasauma has delivered air beam shelters to the defence sector since 1967, and units nearing 40 years of age still come in for servicing today.
-
Complete Turnkey System: Ships as a fully integrated climate-control package, heating, cooling, drying, and filtration in one unit, eliminating the need to source separate HVAC hardware or structural framing. The number of people a unit can serve at once depends on the shelter’s floor area and on local occupancy regulations, rather than one fixed figure.
Delivery times are typically short. Larger orders should be confirmed with us directly to secure lead time and availability.
Ask us about delivery times and customisation
Technical Specifications
The Rapid-Deploy Cooling Hub’s climate control unit is built on proven industrial HVAC technology, combining heating, cooling, drying, and filtration in a single system.
The unit is based on the AirTreater Biegga 165 kW model.
- Heating capacity: 4.6 to 160 kW
- Cooling capacity: up to 81 kW
- Drying and dehumidification capacity: 40 to 50 kg/h, effective even at low temperatures
- Airflow: 2,000 to 14,400 m³/h
- Operating temperature range: -45°C to +46°C
- Refrigerant: R32
- Power supply: max 160 A fixed connection, or 63 A plug supply
- Building automation and remote monitoring as standard; quick and easy commissioning
An optional add-on filtration module, LumiFresh, provides high-level air purification, removing VOC gases, toxins, bacteria, viruses, and mould from the air by up to 99.9%. The system can filter virtually all airborne particulates. Chemical warfare agents require a separate, dedicated solution and are not covered by this filtration.
The unit also supports dehumidification. Firefighting gear is frequently wet during and after deployment, and dry, clean interior air helps personnel recover more effectively even in an otherwise hot environment.
For Cities and Municipalities
Emergency Cooling Centres and Climate Shelters for Heat-Affected Urban Areas
Dense urban environments are especially vulnerable during heat waves, where limited shade and heat-retaining surfaces put residents, particularly older people, children, and outdoor workers, at elevated risk.
A growing number of European cities have already established formal cooling centre or climate shelter programmes, giving residents access to cool, safe public spaces during extreme heat. The Rapid-Deploy Cooling Hub can be positioned quickly in public spaces, transit hubs, or care facility grounds, providing an immediate, climate-controlled space for relief, and can support police and other responders coordinating on site during large-scale heat emergencies.
Emergency Medical and Field Hospital Support
During severe heat events, hospitals and primary care facilities can face sudden surges in heat-related admissions: heat stroke, dehydration, and complications among elderly or vulnerable patients, sometimes exceeding existing capacity at short notice.
The Rapid-Deploy Cooling Hub can be positioned as a temporary, climate-controlled field hospital or triage space wherever additional medical capacity is needed, from hospital car parks to community centres, without waiting for permanent infrastructure to be arranged.
This is a proven application: the mobile field hospitals used by the Finnish Defence Forces’ Centre for Military Medicine are built on the same underlying product.
For Humanitarian and Relief Organisations
Supporting Humanitarian and Disaster-Relief Operations
Humanitarian and disaster-relief organisations are often the first to respond when extreme heat affects vulnerable populations, including displaced people, refugees, and residents of informal settlements, who may have the least access to reliable shelter or cooling.
Alongside the air beam Cooling Hub, CPE Suojasauma also manufactures lightweight, frame-based tents, a practical option when speed of deployment and ease of transport are the priority.
Read more of our products
For Wildfire and Emergency Response
Climate-Controlled Rest and Recovery Areas for Fire and Rescue Crews
Wildfire operations place extreme physical demands on fire and rescue personnel, often requiring days of continuous deployment in high heat and smoke-affected conditions.
Rest and recovery infrastructure, often referred to internationally as a crew rehabilitation or rehab area, is an important part of wildfire response planning, particularly for crews operating over extended periods. The Rapid-Deploy Cooling Hub provides a mobile, climate-controlled shelter that can be positioned close to the fireground, giving crews, including police managing road closures and traffic diversions around the fire area, a fast, reliable space to recover between shifts.
Rapid-Deploy Cooling Shelters for Emergency Services
Designed for fire and rescue services, civil protection authorities, and emergency management organisations across Europe, the shelter combines proven air beam structural technology with a high-efficiency climate control unit. It inflates within minutes, requires minimal personnel to deploy, and can be relocated as fire lines shift, supporting crew welfare and operational continuity throughout extended incidents.
Supporting Firefighter Health During Extreme Heat Events
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense, protecting the health of frontline personnel is a core operational priority. Firefighters working in extreme heat, sometimes above 100°C near the fire itself, experience significant heat stress: heart rate can climb above 185 bpm during a task and continue rising into the recovery phase.
This heat load adds to the strain already placed on the cardiovascular system and muscles by repeated exposure over the course of a shift, increasing fatigue and the risk of overexertion. Heavy protective gear, weighing up to 20 kg, together with poor sleep during multi-day deployments, compounds the effect.
In the United States, stress and overexertion were linked to more than 40% of firefighter deaths between 2000 and 2021. Removing protective equipment during rest periods and following a structured recovery routine are recognised ways to reduce the risk of heat illness.
Pre-Positioning in Wildfire-Prone Regions
Beyond active-incident deployment, the same rapid-assembly design lends itself to pre-positioning in areas identified as high wildfire risk ahead of the season, giving agencies a ready recovery point before a fire breaks out rather than mobilising one once conditions are already critical. Shelters kept in long-term readiness need regular maintenance and cleaning, which agencies should plan for as part of pre-positioning.
CPE Suojasauma has delivered shelters to fire and rescue services in both Finland and Sweden.
Air Filtration for Smoke-Affected Environments
Where required, the unit’s air handling system can be configured with additional filtration to help manage smoke and particulates in the surrounding air, giving crews access to a cleaner-air environment during rest periods.
For Armed Forces and Defence Procurement
Cooling Solutions for Armed Forces Across Europe
National armed forces operating in extreme heat, whether during training, field exercises, or deployed operations, face the same core challenge as civilian emergency services: keeping personnel safe and operational when temperatures climb. The Rapid-Deploy Cooling Hub’s rapid-assembly air beam design and turnkey climate control unit are well suited to field conditions, camp environments, and forward operating locations across Europe.
Working with Defence Contractors and Procurement Bodies
European defence procurement takes many forms, from direct national tenders to multinational programmes coordinated through prime contractors and specialised agencies. CPE Suojasauma engages with this market in multiple ways, including direct sales, through reseller partners, as a subcontractor, and as a contract manufacturer, so that its shelter and climate-control solutions are available wherever they are needed, however a given procurement route is structured.
Ask about the reseller for your area
A Reliable Manufacturer with Extensive Experience in Civil and Military Protection
Whether protecting city residents from extreme heat or supporting responders on the wildfire line, the Rapid-Deploy Cooling Hub reflects what has driven CPE Suojasauma since 1967: bringing protection and safety to the people who need it most, wherever conditions are most demanding.
CPE Suojasauma designs and manufactures high-quality protective solutions that can be customised to suit the specific needs of our customers. Our products have been used worldwide in the protection of people since 1967.