The lower tier municipalities in Perth County have been getting presentations on the new Perth County Emergency Response Plan.
Rick Fraser, the county's Emergency Management Coordinator, says the plan has been updated to better prepare everyone for prompt and organized emergencies, from tornados to floods and everything in between.
"That plan really is driven from Emergency Management Ontario's direction. We're using their Incident Management System as a framework for response, and that's really what the plan is all about. It provides a framework for the municipal emergency control groups to utilize within the Emergency Operations Centre in the event there is an emergency," Fraser shared.
The plan has a number of sections that outline how an ideal response should go down.
"Regardless of the type of emergency or event they are managing, this plan provides them a framework of how they're gonna enter the Emergency Operations Centre, the operational cycles and steps and measures they should be taking and looking at. Checklists are also provided to the teams to follow along," said Fraser. "Then we get into specific emergencies in standard operating procedures, and those could include tornados, severe weather events, your typical fire and explosion events. Those are handled separately in standard operating procedures."
Many different scenarios are covered in the plan, including step-by-step procedures when an emergency first occurs.
"The first operational cycle would include an update from the site. So the first responders on-scene, getting an idea of what's occurring at the scene itself. It's termed situational awareness. So they know a path to take to assist the first responders. Obtaining items or equipment that the responders might need to respond. So that's one. Two, how we can start formulating a response for the community or the affected municipality. Finally, most importantly, driving communication," Fraser added.
More on Perth County emergency management can be found here: https://www.perthcounty.ca/en/living-here/emergency-management.aspx