It’s been over five years in the making, but a regional emergency management response network, covering 18 communities initially, was launched with a meeting and information session on Friday, November 22.
The launch of the Regional Emergency Management Team is an effort to foster a spirit of preparedness. Flooding, widespread fires with the potential to destroy communities, crippling blizzards and snow events are all part of an emerging reality in the face of shifting weather patterns. Data shows that once in a hundred-year storms or events are happening with much greater frequency than century long intervals.
“Through this organization, we will enhance our preparedness with a series of comprehensive region wide plans and training programs that will strengthen our response capabilities through shared resources and expertise,” explained Mike Kwasnica, Director of Protective Services for Humboldt who has spearheaded the outreach. “We will enhance recovery efforts that support restoring normalcy swiftly and effectively. It will most importantly support the safety and well-being of every person in our area.”
Disasters are not always singular events, the participants in the session learned. Take for example the trifecta of an intense winter storm, a stranded assembly of players, parents and coaches at a hockey tournament, and a power outage. The layering of challenges, as is often the case when misfortune strikes, can leave a single community struggling with effective support. A regional organization, prepared for a coordinated effort, is likely to be more effective and successful.
The organization brought in consultant Ray Unrau, a contractor with a wealth of experience in safety organization and disaster management. A former director of emergency management for the City of Saskatoon and a longtime affiliate of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Unrau has helped establish interagency ventures and designed incident command centres in a forty-year career. He brings that expertise to the new organization in the Humboldt area.
“Over the last 35-40 years, a lot of folks have recognized that we can't do emergency management by ourselves,” Unrau contends. “We can't be that one isolated island. The concept of regionalization is relatively new in the province. My philosophy is to capitalize on this realization with communities that they can’t do it by themselves. Then you take that one step further to give them the tools they need to develop their internal capacity – so they don’t have to rely on consultants in the future.”
With that capacity building, it’s Unrau’s sincerest hope to be able to work himself, as a consultant, out of a job.
The plan is a comprehensive three-year strategy designed to take regional participants from planning into action. Year one involves mapping out community assets, including a gap analysis, from which a governance framework can be set up. Phase 2 training needs, based on the assessment, will be mapped out and the basic emergency operations centres will be fleshed out.
Year two involves Incident Command System (ICS) training, Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) training and finalizing the regionalization plan and the EOC concept.
The final year commits to building toward a final operational program with six regional exercises to field test the model. Following that, the plan is reviewed, updated and validated.
Unrau says that commitment to the process and expanded participation within the region could make the Humboldt and area initiative a protype for the province.
The shift from planning to exercising the program is the key to success, according to Unrau.
“What I want to do is change the focus from a planning process to a program – so people have a plan as an achievement, but the program is how you exercise the plan,” says Unrau.
Sharing regional resources and skills sets are in the opening frame. Then it’s on to melding the people and resources into a cohesive unit set to tackle widespread and evolving emergencies.
“We started talking about this shortly after the 2018 bus crash about how we can do better in the region,” said Kwasnica about the run-up to the meeting. “Around 2019, we had our first meeting where about six communities showed up. The word got out, and we kept expanding and expanding. I think it’s a great initiative, and to get to this point is just fantastic.”