That the following recommendation from the Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting, held May 1, 2018, be endorsed:
That priorities be assigned to the following recommendations from the 2017 Wildfire Reports Recommendations as noted below:
Priority/notes
Recommendations
Priority #2: – Develop a Policy to prevent abuse of ID’s
IDENTIFICATION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS: Providing a universal identification to First Responders, prior to emergencies when possible. The identification should be provided to all firefighters, search and rescue, ESS, and emergency operations staff, and be hung from mirrors of vehicles, and be accompanied with a bracelet.
Priority #1:
EVACUATION GUIDE FOR RESPONDERS: A short and simple set of guides for responders in various roles including road blocks, door-to-door evacuation notifications, firefighting, emergency operations centre, and other roles.
The guides will include region overview, basic maps, emergency operations structure, terminology, FAQ, key contacts, distances between communities, and where they can connect to updated information.
Priority #3:
INCREASED RESOURCES FOR WILDFIRE FIREFIGHTING IN ISOLATED COMMUNICATIONS: Work with communities to identify needs and create a plan to fill needs. The plan should be in place within one year.
Priority #1: (Community Liaisons)
Priority #3: (firefighting training)
TURNING A LIABILITY INTO AN ASSET: Understand that residents in rural areas served an important role in past years to assist in emergency response, and can in the future. While their roles may be limited to reduce liability, they should not be completely eliminated from being a resource. They can be used to transport messages, parts, and supply resources. This is not an endorsement to stay and defend, as that has resulted in many deaths in Australia where the program was implemented. Residents should only be used where it is safe to do so, and improves upon resources available.
1/2 – delete reference to municipalities and bylaw
RURAL ADDRESSING: A standardized rural addressing signage program must be launched by the municipalities, with a focus on those in rural areas. The program will be backed by a bylaw requiring property owners to participate in the program by a certain date. Rural addressing program sample.
Priority #3:
MENTAL HEALTH: No person let down. Strong advocacy for increased resources to match demand are immediately required from the Province of British Columbia.
Priority #3:
Tracking of mental health metrics in the community, which will target areas needing attention.
Priority #3:
Mental health community outreach for at least 12 months after the emergency ended, including in schools and with elderly. Community support groups which meet regularly should be established as part of this outreach.
Priority #3:
Targeted outreach and programs for first responders including volunteers from fire departments, ESS, and other organizations, as well as emergency operations team members.
Priority #4:
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOCUSED ON SURVIVAL NEEDS: Advocacy to the Province of British Columbia to ensure aid is immediately in place for individuals and organizations. This is not a political need and should not be treated as one. It should only be measured on the substantial needs of the region, which have been heavily impacted by the wildfires, in regards to employment, operational ability, length of the emergency and damage to property.
Many have been done already, too late to do more
THANK YOU EVENTS: Thank you events should be held in at least Nimpo Lake, Riske Creek, Williams Lake, Quesnel, Nazko, Interlakes, 100 Mile House, and 108 Mile Ranch with a focus on thanking all who responded. For those unable to attend, communities should ensure they receive their thanks through a creation such as video, art, or a gift. These events should be held in early spring, and be organized by the CRD, and may be able to access funds through the Canadian Red Cross.
Priority #1- Advocacy
TOURISM: Additional resources and funding to promote the entire region, with specific promotion focused on those sectors hit the hardest.
Resources to transition sustainable businesses to another area or into a new area of business.
Preparing to use tourism operators for resource in future emergencies, including accommodations, food and supplies. This preparation will include planning to ensure they can remain supplied when road closures are hampering deliveries.
Done
The facilitator, in his opening remarks, made it clear that he was unprepared and unfamiliar with the community. He referred concerns and comments to the Manager of Protective Services, and at least twice, she argued with residents as to the validity of their concerns or suggestions. We should ensure that procedures for community debriefs are included in the emergency plan update. If an outside facilitator is used, he/she must be prepared and objective, and our procedure should include a process to ensure he/she is briefed in advance of the meeting. If Cariboo Regional District staff conduct the community debrief, we should consider providing training for them to do so in an objective manner. I also think it is not fair to ask Emergency Operations Centre staff to fill this role as it would be extremely difficult for them to remain objective.
Priority #1:
The emergency plan update should include a process for ensuring that first responders receive critical incident debriefing. Additionally, the plan should provide for requesting extra resources from outside agencies as appropriate, eg. RCMP, Victim Services, trauma counselling, etc., as well as for communicating with senior government ministries.
Done
We should consider holding community awareness sessions in our rural communities, and working with Emergency Management BC to develop materials for these sessions. These sessions could provide information about community preparedness, individual and community responsibilities for the immediate emergency, and the role of the community first responders as well as gather information about local expertise, resources, and volunteers to inform our files.
Done
When people are not evacuated, and the emergency continues to affect the community, we should implement an on-site command centre, with an on-site commander who is a Cariboo Regional District employee. The role of this centre is multipurpose: to co-ordinate the response on the ground, to co-ordinate with local experts, resources and volunteers, to liaise with our
EOC, to provide verification of local reports, as well as to provide information and reassurance to impacted residents. Our emergency plan should provide procedures for activating, as well as de-activating this centre.
Done
In addition to the emergency communication improvements currently being implemented, we should consider placing a communication bulletin board dedicated to the emergency in a central location in the community. We should also work with Emergency Management BC to provide a website and/or Facebook page dedicated to the emergency, and to update it at least daily. Our plan update should provide for various communication measures, including providing information door-to-door, holding community meetings, posting and removing signs, and mailing flyers.
Priority #3:
Our emergency plan should identify procedures for delivering potable water to residents when their water source is impacted. We should work with Emergency Management BC to clarify the authorization procedure for supplying water, as well as other resources and services. We should work with EMBC to provide a list of pre-authorized services in order to remove the uncertainty, and to improve our response time.
Priority #1:
We should work with Emergency Management BC to identify sources and pricing for showers and logistics requirements, as well as for other specialized equipment and supplies specific to emergencies (eg. Sandbags, sprinkler trailers). If we are not successful in that effort, we should ensure that they are identified in our emergency plan.
Done
Our emergency plan should include a role for the Area Director as the public face of the Cariboo Regional District for the community, and provide for regular briefings. Additionally, we should consider re-instating the Emergency Planning Committee to assist the Board with setting policy and guiding the emergency plan updates.
Done
We should report back to Likely with decisions as to changes we are making to our plan as a result of this debrief, and of our experiences with this emergency. This could be part of an awareness/information-gathering session.