Emergency Management Program

Transcription

1 Emergency Management Program The Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990,c.E.9 and its associated regulations and standards, requires all Ontario Municipalities to implement a mandatory emergency management program, consisting of the following: designation of a community emergency management coordinator (CEMC); formation of a community emergency management program committee; publication of an approved community emergency plan; development of an appropriate community emergency operations centre; annual training and exercises for the emergency operations control group, employees of the municipality and other persons with respect to the provision of necessary services and the procedures to be followed in emergency response and recovery activities; development and implementation of a public awareness program and education on risks to public safety and on public preparedness for emergencies; identification of individuals to act as community emergency information staff; annual review of the community emergency management program. Goal/Aim The goal of the County of Frontenac s Emergency Management Coordinator is to provide the highest level of emergency preparedness to the visitors and citizens of Frontenac County. Our aim is to save lives, protect property and the environment through prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery actions through a collaborative and comprehensive planning process. Prevention: Actions taken to prevent an emergency or disaster. Mitigation: Actions taken to reduce the effects of an emergency or disaster. Preparedness: Actions taken prior to an emergency or disaster to ensure an effective response. These actions include the formulation of an emergency response plan, training, exercises and public awareness and education. Response: Actions taken to respond to an emergency or disaster. Recovery: Actions taken to recover from an emergency and to return the County of Frontenac or the affected area back to near normal after a disaster. Community Control Group The activation of the County of Frontenac Emergency Plan will result in the Community Control Group (CCG) convening in the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). The CCG functions as a senior management decision-making and coordinating body to assess events as they occur and decide on a unified course of action to overcome specific problems. The CCG is responsible for maintaining operations throughout the community, and to function as a support centre for the Incident Site Manager by arranging to provide resources and expertise as requested. The County of Frontenac CCG consists of the following group of officials (or a designate thereof):

2 County Warden Chief Administration Officer Emergency Information Officer County Emergency Management Coordinator County Fire Coordinator Chief of Paramedic Services Medical Officer of Health Ontario Provincial Police Evacuation Coordinator Occupational Health Nurse Meeting Scribe All emergency operations will be directed and controlled by this group of officials responsible for providing the essential services needed to minimize the effects of the emergency on the municipality. While in the EOC, members of the CCG gather at regular intervals to inform each other of actions taken and problems encountered (Operating Cycle). The Chief Administrative Officer chairs the CCG and establishes the frequency of meetings and agenda items. Staff of other municipalities and representatives of other supporting organizations may be added to or deleted from the membership of the CCG in accordance with the nature of the emergency. For further details of CCG responsibilities please refer to the County of Frontenac Emergency Plan Emergency Management Program Committee The goal of the Emergency Management Program Committee is to act as an advisory committee for the Emergency Management Program of the County of Frontenac guiding the development, implementation, and maintenance of the community's emergency management program. The meetings of the committee are usually held in January, April, September and November. The formation of such a committee is a key organizational step toward making the emergency management process work at the local level. The County of Frontenac Emergency Management Committee is chaired by the Emergency Management Coordinator and is composed of representation from the following first responders and internal business units: Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Health Unit Frontenac Paramedic Services Emergency Management Ontario Ontario Provincial Police County Fire Coordinator Treasurer Information Technology Fairmount Home Human Resources

3 Occupational Health Communications Emergency Operations Centre The EOC is the designated location where the CCG convenes to manage the emergency. The EOC is essential to the process of providing centralized direction and coordination of emergency response and recovery operations. The EOC is outfitted with a generator, individual secure telephone lines, radios, emergency directories, flip charts, maps and all other necessary stationary supplies. In the event that the EOC is unusable, there are alternate Emergency Operations Centers. Public Awareness/Education Program The County of Frontenac endeavors to promote resiliency within the community through an active Emergency Management Public Awareness/Education Program directed at raising citizens' awareness about the importance of preparing before an emergency and knowing what to do during and after an incident. This program raises citizens' awareness about community emergency management activities, such as the existence of a current and annually exercised emergency response plan. This program provides focused information to targeted audiences in order to share information on reducing one's risks of injury, death, property loss, or environmental damage in the event of a specific emergency situation. Some methods for communicating emergency public awareness messages are: brochures, kits and flyers information posted on the Internet public announcements by print, radio or television bulletin boards, outdoor posters speaking engagements: delivery of lectures to community groups, agencies, schools.., public events: setting up of displays at festivals, shows.., exercises: simulated emergency exercises / training courses Emergency Training/Mock Exercises The County of Frontenac has yearly training and mock exercises to evaluate our Emergency Response Plan. Our objective is to train our personnel, educate the public, test facilities and equipment and strengthen cooperation between first responders, county departments and city stakeholders. An evaluation by means of training and exercises is an integral part of our emergency response plan which we take seriously. It is designed to evaluate emergency processes that work and identify those needing improvement. Our yearly training is selected depending on its purpose, the level of

4 training, our risks and the human and material resources available. Some exercises used in the county of Frontenac are: Paper exercises: starts with an opening scenario, followed by a series of inputs that are given to the players on paper. The inputs are information, inquiries or requests that one would expect to receive in a real incident. Discussions pursue between the players on the decisions made, recommendations, possible response actions and communication procedures. The players' responses to exercise events are usually very similar to those in full-scale exercises. Table-top exercises: similar to paper exercises but the players describe their response actions using props such as maps, models and equipment. Telecommunication exercises: uses radios and telephones to transmit information thus testing the telecommunications system. Notification exercises: The notification procedure of the Emergency Plan is activated thus testing the procedure and confirming the correct contact information is on record. Those notified may or may not be asked to assemble in the EOC. Full-scale exercise: involves the simulation of an emergency site including the deployment of first responders, specialty teams, vehicles, equipment and possible simulated casualties. Usually the EOC is also activated and a communications link is established with the site. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) The County of Frontenac Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) was reviewed and adopted in November 2009 and is now reviewed annually. A hazard is described as an event or physical condition that has the potential to cause fatalities, injuries, property damage, infrastructure damage, agricultural loss, damage to the environment, interruption of business, or other types of harm or loss (Federal Emergency Management Agency). This assessment was completed by first reviewing the 40 major hazards facing the province as per Emergency Management Ontario (EMO). EMO also supplied a definition and description of each hazard. From this list a historical review of hazardous occurrences in the County of Frontenac was completed. Furthermore expert advice was researched concerning the possibility of some hazards occurring even though the historical occurrences were not recent. Once a comprehensive list of specific community hazards was created, the probability and potential consequence of each hazard was determined. Finally a community risk assessment grid was completed resulting in the prioritization of risks found in the County of Frontenac. The HIRA acts as the foundation for the County of Frontenac s risk-based emergency management program.

5 Likely Hazards Hazardous Materials Transportation Human Health Emergency Incident Transportation Accidents Fires(Brush/ Wildland-Urban Interface) Snowstorms/Blizzards/Ice/Sleet/Hailstorm Energy Emergency Tornadoes/Winds Drought Critical Infrastructure Failure Special Event (i.e. large concert) Earthquakes Floods Water Emergencies Possible Hazards Explosions/Fires(Buildings/Structures) Hazardous Materials-Fixed Site Agricultural/Food Emergency Terrorism Radiological Emergency Dam Failure For more information about the County of Frontenac s Emergency Management program please contact: Paul J. Charbonneau, Community Emergency Management Coordinator Phone: x400 pcharbonneau@frontenaccounty.ca