Be Ready to Go Make Your Personal Preparedness Kit Personal

April 24th, 2017 Fort Saskatchewan: May 1st marks the anniversary of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Wildfire, and one of the largest evacuations in Canadian history. Local mutual aid emergency response organization Northeast Region Community Awareness Emergency Response (NRCAER), wants residents in our region to Be Ready to Go.

 Nearly 90,000 people had a short amount of time to flee, many leaving behind homes and possessions they would never see again. “Imagine having 20 minutes to gather what you need and get out – not knowing when you’ll be back, or what you will come back to,” says Brenda Gheran with NRCAER. “I think we can all agree it would be overwhelming, so the time to think about and prepare for it is before an emergency happens,” Gheran says.

 Planning ahead and putting together an emergency preparedness kit can make a big difference to your safety and your ability to bounce back from any emergency. “Kits are important, however you need to make your personal kit personal, to reflect your individual needs,” emphasizes Gheran.

 In addition to water, food, first aid kits, flashlights and blankets, Gheran recommends having copies of important documents, including passports, health care cards, social insurance cards, insurance policies, prescriptions and contact numbers in kits, to be ready to grab and go if needed.

 May 7 to 13th is Emergency Preparedness Week in Canada.

 Free Emergency Preparedness Event for the Community

Monday, May 1st from 4:00 – 5:30

Fort Saskatchewan Co-Op parking lot  

Information, Giveaways, Hotdogs, Response Vehicles

NRCAER members include emergency management professionals from area industry and the municipalities of Bruderheim, Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons, Morinville, Lamont, Strathcona and Sturgeon. Since 1991, the group has been sharing best practices in emergency response planning and management, training, community safety education and notification. Further information can be found at www.nrcaer.com. 
 

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 Brenda Gheran, Executive Director NRCAER   executivedirector@nrcaer.com

780-424-0162