Emergency services personnel are like the Boy Scouts. They always want to be prepared.
In an effort to be just that, the Alberta government and emergency management experts in 10 communities throughout the province participated in a three-day emergency preparedness exercise.
The bulk of the live action exercise, dubbed EM15, took place in Thorhild at an old decommissioned school.
Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) managing director, Shane Schreiber, said the exercise was based on a real life incident in Elliot Lake, Ont, in 2012 when part of a mall’s roof collapsed, killing two people and injuring dozens of others.
In the Thorhild version, about 100 members of Alberta’s all-hazard response team were dispatched to school after an ice storm caused part of the school to collapse, trapping and injuring a number of people.
At the same time as the emergency personnel were dealing with the situation in Thorhild, the mock storm also caused simulated power outages, road closures, highway traffic accidents, train derailments, and environmental threats in a number of different communities throughout the province.
All totalled more than 500 people from emergency services personel, municipal employees and volunteers in the communities of Airdrie, High River, the M.D. of Foothills, Raymond, Chestermere, Lethbridge County, Redcliff, Mayerthorpe and Lloydminster took part in the exercise.
When I first read about this exercise my first reaction was jealousy. I wished I could be a part of it.
As many of our regular readers know, I am an amateur radio operator and for many years I was part of the Central Okanagan’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)’s Communication Unit in Kelowna, B.C.
As part of the EOC’s communication team, I participated in many exercises similar to EM15. Our role during an emergency was to help alleviate the stress on the more common communication modes or to provide communications if regular communications failed outright.
In 2003 and 2009, our unit’s readiness was tested when two interface fires threatened our city. For the most part, our role was to provide communications between the EOC and the various evacuation centres across the city. In one case, during the 2003 fire, we were asked to provide communications on a houseboat that had been dispatched to rescue some firefighters who had become trapped behind the fire line.
The other thing I realized is how important it is to be prepared for an emergency.
When I was part of the EOC, we had to turn away radio operators who wanted to help. Unfortunately, they did not have the proper training and would have been more of a hindrance than help. Now, I would be one of those operators that would be turned away.
As an ordinary citizen it is important to be prepared for a potential disaster. AEMA advises Albertans to research the risks in their community and to always have a 72-hour emergency kit with food, money and documentation ready in case you are unable to leave your home or need to evacuate on short notice. That is good advice and one I plan on taking.
