Preparing a 72-hour lifesaver
By Chris Simon

Photo by Chris Simon Innisfil's deputy fire chief Jim Ferry shows off some of the items that should be placed in an emergency kit, during an open house at the New Town Hall last week.

Prepare for the unknown.

It's the message Innisfil's community emergency management coordinator and deputy fire chief Jim Ferry has begun stressing to constituents. Last week, Ferry manned a display of emergency preparedness pamphlets and information at the New Town Hall.

The display was part of the national Emergency Preparedness Week, and aligned with several other initiatives taking place throughout the town. Council passed an updated version of the town's Emergency Response Plan last week, while Innisfil Fire and Rescue Service announced it will set-up its fire house at Summerfest next month.

"It's a living document, it gets updated from time to time if we see there's a need to put changes into the plan," said Ferry. "We saw a need to put things in to make us more responsive to disasters."

Ferry says residents should prepare to sustain themselves for 72 hours, by putting together a kit that includes towels, candles, a crank radio, soap, disinfectant wipes and other necessary supplies.

"We have all kinds of information, but its that 72 hours we need people to be disaster resilient (and) prepared to look after themselves," he said. "The emergency workers are going to do their best to get in and look after you ... (but) there isn't that magical crystal ball out there that'll tell us what's going to happen."

The new plan outlines how the town should best respond to a disaster within the municipality. It ensures the town is as capable as possible of handling a largescale emergency. However, preparedness is also the responsibility of residents, said Ferry.

"You are responsible for your own preparedness. We'll give instructions on how to get there, but we're not going to lead (people)," he said. "Twelve per cent of Canadians have an emergency response kit. Eleven per cent have a family escape plan. That's not very many. We're trying to raise awareness, all we can do is tell people, but we can't force people."

All municipalities in Ontario must have an emergency plan, as mandated by the provincial government. While the town already has an emergency plan in place, the province has required updates which incorporate lessons learned from emergencies such as September 11 and Hurricane Katrina.

Among the changes passed, several emergency procedures have been defined and contact roles were clarified for the town's Emergency Site Manager and Community Control Group.

The new document also more accurately reflects existing conditions within the community, and conforms to similar emergency plans passed by the County of Simcoe, provincial and federal governments.

Ferry says a significant emergency can occur at any time. In fact, during the recent spring thaw, Belle Ewart narrowly avoided major flooding.

"It all came out of September 2001, what started the ball rolling for us to be reactive to a major event," said Ferry.

"Provincially, all municipalities were required to have a plan in place. We actually had an exercise in the plan with the flooding. We were meeting once a week and going through preparations." For more information, visit www.getprepared.ca.