Don Beer
Emergency Program Coordinator
The Emergency Programs mandate is to meet provincial legislation under the Emergency Program Act, identifying our city’s responsibilities to provide a safer community. The key responsibilities are to establish plans to prepare, respond, and recover during disasters such as those which are man-made (hazardous materials, terrorism) or naturally occurring (floods, earthquakes, wildfires).
The program is under the direction of Mayor and Council and is lead by the city’s Emergency Program Coordinator – Fire Chief Don Beer and Deputy Emergency Coordinator – Deputy Fire Chief, Ron Hull. We are a small division that operates independently of, but under the operating budget of the Fire Rescue Service. Currently the Emergency Program division has two staffed positions (Deputy Fire Chief – Emergency Planning, Emergency Advisor) that are responsible for coordinating the program, but also rely heavily on the use of the Public Lifeline Volunteer Groups to assist in administering the programs and services.
Another key component of the Emergency Program is the Emergency Planning Committee. Reporting to the Emergency Coordinator, City Manager and Mayor & Council, the Emergency Planning Committee works together to develop, communicate, coordinate, and practice the City of Abbotsford’s Emergency Management plans; to ensure the City is prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster. The Emergency Planning Committee is made up of key representatives including the public sector, private businesses and local organizations that may play key roles in planning, response or recovery.
Functions:
Mitigation:
Assessing risk and vulnerabilities unique to Abbotsford will not prevent disasters from happening, but it will provide an opportunity to reduce suffering, minimize damage and recover quickly. Considering risks and creating mitigation plans is ongoing within the Abbotsford Emergency Program. The following list contains natural risks and other hazards regularly monitored by the Provincial Emergency Program and communicated through our department. An example of a mitigation used to address the vulnerability is listed in brackets:
- Flood (dikes)
- Earthquake (seismic upgrading)
- Extreme Weather (salting equipment)
- Landslide (geographical support measures)
- Hazardous Material Spill (HAZMAT Response Teams)
- Storm Surge (shoreline widening)
- Wildfire (City Planning for residential placement)
Preparedness:
The City of Abbotsford Emergency Response and Recovery Plan defines how the City will respond to a major emergency. It provides definition, and presents roles and responsibilities of officials from every level of government and artner agencies.
The Emergency Program educates the residents of Abbotsford to assess risks within their own community, and then to develop business, family and personal preparedness plans appropriate to their own needs. We support the campaign of our Federal Government to strongly suggest Personal Preparedness Kits to sustain individuals or families for 72 Hours. Business continuity information is available to businesses and will become a valuable means of assuring businesses can operate and recover quickly after a large scale emergency. Please do your part - BE PREPARED.
Response:
Mitigation and planning before a disaster will likely ensure a more timely response to an emergency situation. During the response, a unified approach will take place that will follow pre-set and exercised plans that reflects the BC Emergency Response Management System (BCERMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) approach to Emergency Management in BC. Emergency Management implements a collaborated response from first responders, and partner agencies. During an incident of this level, the Emergency Program Coordinator will activate an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) to comply with Local, Provincial and Federal issuance of shared manpower, and resources.
Public Lifeline Volunteers play a crucial role in the response phase to any emergency that requires their valuable services. Ongoing recruitment, training and practical exercises ensure that these teams of volunteers are prepared to respond safely and effectively. Emergency Support Services (ESS), Abbotsford Emergency Radio Communication Society (AERCS), and Central Valley Search and Rescue (CVSAR) are the three volunteer organizations run under the Emergency Program umbrella; all three are currently accepting applications.
Recovery:
Understanding and an inventory of all available resources will aid in recovery efforts. Mutual aid agreements with other communities will enhance our ability to recover in areas where we may fall short in a large scale response. Relationship building with outside agencies will offer appropriate incident specific services to our community in a time of need. Recovery efforts will be considered during Mitigation, Planning and Response to ensure that recovery remains the focus of the entire Emergency Management process. The recovery process also relies heavily on the preparedness of all residents and businesses of Abbotsford. Please do your part – BE PREPARED.