EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, Part 1
“What’s to prepare for?” you ask. What a silly question! But the next line is worse: “I’ve bought the whole kit and caboodle, so I’m ready.” Really? Most people haven’t got the faintest idea of what it means to Be Prepared. I remember the Girl Guide and Ranger promise: Be Prepared. Who can tell me what that actually means?
Before I joined the North Shore Emergency Management (NSEM) team of volunteers, more than 20 years ago, I attended Emergency Preparedness workshops to learn how things work in responding to an emergency; what part the provincial government plays in responding to an emergency; and how the staff at NSEM trained and managed their teams of volunteer. It was fascinating information that I had never thought of before. At work, I had been part of fire drills, earthquake drills and lockdowns—against potential ‘human invaders’ (bad guys), not a virus.
So where do you start to prepare? At the NSEM workshops, I saw Powerpoint presentations that gave me the lowdown about how my world could be turned upside down in a flash. In fact, the Rec Centres offered free evening workshops that NSEM volunteers would present to groups of adults. I observed a few of those and was so impressed that it motivated me to take action. I offered to volunteer at the Red Cross in Vancouver, when they were responding to the Okanagan Mountain Park fire in Kelowna, in 2003, which destroyed 239 homes at the southern edge of the city. Family Reunification was their role. What an eye-opener to see the destruction and the mayhem for families trying to find their loved ones. And the paperwork, in triplicate, that went with each call for help. I needed to be trained on how to fill out the forms, so that other volunteers could understand what the needs were, and to file them in the right place for the supervisors to pass on or deal with directly.
That was just the beginning of my training to be a volunteer on an emergency response team. There was so much to learn that over the years I even went to the Justice Institute in New Westminster for free courses on all aspects of emergency preparedness. I met people who were part of teams within many of the Metro Vancouver municipalities. The Justice Institute offers programs in Emergency Management. In fact, they now offer a degree in Emergency Management and Security Studies. They train first responders and professionals in justice, public safety and social services.
I remember going to meetings of volunteers from all over Metro Vancouver for many months before the Olympics in 2010, preparing for events that we all hoped would never happen. We needed to be organized and know who had what skills that might be tapped in an emergency. The only skill I could offer was that I was fluent in French. But it was helpful for others to know that. Communication is so important, after all.
To be continued…
Fiona