What is the difference between EI 30 and REI 30, and which one do I need?

EI 30 is integrity and insulation for thirty minutes under the standardised fire-test curve in EN 13501-2. REI 30 adds R for structural load-bearing capacity over the same period. EI 30 is the right specification for most accommodation, sanitary, and command-post containers, where the envelope has to hold but the unit is not load-bearing. REI 30 is what we deliver when the container is stacked under load or carries a roof structure, for example two-floor stacked accommodation.

Why RAL 5010 specifically?

It is the de facto civil-protection livery across most of continental Europe. Slovak, Czech, German, and Austrian public-administration fleets use it to signal state response capacity. When an authority asks for "the standard blue" without naming a code, RAL 5010 is what they mean. We mix it in our own paint booth from the certified base.

Can you deliver inside a fortnight for a live emergency?

Not from a cold start. From a standing framework or a pre-engineered drawing in our library, we can move into production immediately and ship pre-positioned stock the same day if it is in the yard. The honest answer is that emergency-services procurement only works on emergency timelines when the procurement happened months earlier and the framework is already in place.

Does the emergency-accommodation specification translate to other EU markets?

Yes. EI 30 to EN 13501-2 is a pan-European classification, EXC2 to EN 1090 is the relevant execution class in any EU member state, and RAL 5010 is recognised across European civil-protection fleets. The dossier transfers to Slovak, Polish, German, and Austrian civil-protection procurement with translated covers and re-issued language-of-record certificates.

What documentation ships with each unit?

Per-unit dossier: WPS / PQR sheet for the relevant joints, EN 10204 3.1 material certificate, paint thickness report, FARO 3D geometric inspection record, fire-classification reference for the EI 30 envelope assembly, CSC plate where applicable, warranty terms, and multilingual operator manual. Programme-level dossiers add weld-procedure qualification records and material traceability for audit.

Can these containers be redeployed across multiple emergencies?

Yes. Hot-dip galvanised sanitary fleets we have built for the national fire and rescue service have cycled through multiple call-outs without structural degradation. For repeat-redeployment use we recommend hot-dip galvanizing on sanitary and storage units, and a C3 or C4 paint system on accommodation units, with a refresh cycle handled at our paint booth between deployments.

Do you handle export delivery to other EU member states?

Standard for us. Default term is EXW Bánovce nad Bebravou; DAP and DDP are available on request with CMR documentation. Our emergency-accommodation references ship into Czechia, our adjacent export market. Slovak, German, Austrian, and Polish deliveries are routine.

What is the difference between this and a standard ISO storage container?

A standard ISO storage container is a steel box rated for transport and CSC-plated for stacking. An emergency-services accommodation or command-post container is a habitable building on a steel chassis, with the envelope rated to EI 30, the structure executed to EXC2, the electrical work to PN-HD 60364, and the finish to the agency livery. Different product, different specification, different procurement.

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EMERGENCY SERVICES

Built to deploy when systems fail

Civil-protection container programmes across the EU, customised to your exact requirement. Flood and disaster response, refugee and displaced-persons accommodation, field command posts, mobile sanitation. Accommodation cells, sanitary modules, command posts and storage units built to EI 30 fire resistance, EXC2 steel and the RAL 5010 civil-protection livery.

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Fire: EI 30
Steel: EXC2
Envelope: PIR sandwich
Frame: RAL 5010

Field sanitary support unit

At a glance

Fire: EI 30
Steel: EXC2
Envelope: PIR sandwich
Frame: RAL 5010

Overview

Sector brief

Emergency-services procurement is the customer set that cannot afford a slipped delivery. When a regional flood, a wildfire evacuation, or a sudden displaced-persons intake forces a civil-protection authority to stand up housing, sanitation, and command capacity inside a week, the container has to arrive welded, painted, fire-rated, and signed off. Specification slips and missed lead times are not commercial issues in this sector. They are humanitarian ones.

Tanax Containers supplies civil-protection and disaster-response programmes through the same engineering and production chain we run for national defence and fire-and-rescue work. The hall in Bánovce nad Bebravou cuts, welds, blasts, paints, and fits out the unit under one roof. Documentation ships with the steel.

For this sector we supply accommodation cells, sanitary and water-support modules, field command posts, and storage and logistics containers, every one customised to the buyer's exact requirement. The standard envelope is EI 30 fire resistance to EN 13501-2, EXC2 execution to EN 1090, PIR sandwich construction, and the RAL 5010 gentian-blue livery used across European civil-protection fleets. Layouts, fit-out, and finish are drawn to the authority's specification rather than pulled from a catalogue, and the documentation set is built to match the procurement language and the relevant national code.

Deployment

Where these containers actually land

Emergency-services use cases are narrower than the marketing literature suggests. We see four real deployment patterns, and we design for them specifically.

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Flood and disaster response

Regional authorities pre-position container modules in warehouses or municipal yards, ready to truck out when a flood gauge or wildfire alert triggers the response plan. The unit has to ride on a standard low-loader, settle on rough ground without a full foundation, and be habitable within hours of arrival. Sanitary modules and accommodation cells dominate this configuration.

Proven in service

Reference deployments

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Czech government, emergency services

EXC2 execution class to EN 1090-1, structural steel with full traceability
EI 30 fire resistance per EN 13501-2 on the relevant envelope elements
PIR sandwich roof construction
RAL 5010 gentian-blue frame, the standard EU civil-protection and government livery

A civil-protection accommodation programme for a Czech government authority documents a complete emergency-accommodation specification, and it has become our baseline for the sector.

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Compliance

Compliance and procurement path

Emergency-services tenders run through national civil-protection authorities, regional disaster-management offices, and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Our compliance stack covers all three.

EN 1090-1 EXC2 execution.
ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environmental, ISO 3834-2 welding.
AQAP 2110:2017 NATO quality assurance (carries weight in dual-use civil-protection / defence procurement).
EI 30 and REI 30 fire resistance available per EN 13501-2.
EN ISO 8501 Sa 2.5 surface preparation, C3 or higher paint systems on request.
Welder qualification to EN ISO 9606.
Material certificates to EN 10204 3.1.
PN-HD 60364 low-voltage electrical work.

For Czech-market tenders, run through the national procurement portal and ministerial direct calls, we respond with the full Slovak-Czech bilingual dossier. For Slovak civil-protection and interior-ministry calls we run the same dossier in Slovak. For EU-wide calls through the Civil Protection Mechanism or rescEU adjacent programmes, we add the English documentation set and the NATO CAGE 4094M cross-reference.

Deployment

Typical configurations

These are the container types we supply for the sector. Every one is engineered and finished to the buyer's exact requirement rather than pulled from a catalogue.

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Accommodation cell

External 6058 × 2438 × 2800 mm. PIR sandwich envelope. EI 30 envelope elements. EXC2 frame. RAL 5010 exterior. Electrical distribution, lighting, sockets, optional AC. Family-grade or bunkhouse layouts.

How we work

Engagement model

Three of our four engagement models apply to emergency services:

The dominant model for civil-protection programmes. Your specification or our engineering review, agreed drawings, fixed price, lead time. This is how our emergency-accommodation references are structured.

Lead time

Lead times

Custom build to spec

10 to 16 weeks

10 to 16 weeks from engineering sign-off, depending on volume and finish.

Framework call-off

as agreed in the framework, with slot held against the production calendar.

Hot-dip galvanizing adds 1 to 2 weeks.
Extended fire-rating treatments (REI 30, hardened envelope) add 1 to 2 weeks.

For genuine emergency call-outs against a standing framework, we hold pre-engineered configurations in our drawings library so a call-off can move into production within days of authorisation.

FAQ

Send a specification. Get a fixed quote.

Engineering review included. Quotation turnaround is 3 to 5 working days for standard configurations.

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