Be Emergency Ready Emergency Preparedness Week is May 6 - 12, 2018

May 2, 2018: Local mutual aid emergency response organization Northeast Region Community Awareness Emergency Response (NRCAER), is hosting a free event to encourage residents to Be Emergency Ready.

Wednesday, May 9th from 3:45 – 5:15
Fort Saskatchewan Co-Op parking lot
Information, Giveaways, Hotdogs, Response Vehicles

“As a region, we need to be emergency ready, regardless of what the emergency is,” says Brenda Gheran of NRCAER. The late spring resulted in recent overland flooding. Now that the snow has melted, there is a lot of dry vegetation, and that means potential for wildfires. “Emergency Preparedness Week is a time to start conversations and take steps to prepare for all types of emergencies.”  

A recent survey asked residents in the area questions about emergency readiness with the following results:
·         85% of respondents were somewhat or very prepared to look after their household   immediate needs for 72 hours
·         54% were somewhat or very prepared to evacuate with a kit of essentials ready to go
·         37% were aware of the Shelter in Place safety action in response to an airborne hazard

“Ongoing community education and awareness is key to an effective response,” emphasizes Gheran. “It’s up to each of us to do our part, and with free resources at our finger tips, preparing is easier than ever.” Gheran refers to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency www.aema.alberta.ca and www.getprepared.gc.ca websites.

Residents were also asked about their primary information source in an emergency:
·         43% said local media
·         26% said local municipality
·         22% said social media
·         13% said alert systems

Recently, wireless public alerting came into effect in Canada. On May 9th, a nation-wide test of the system will be conducted. Smart phones that are LTE network enabled will receive a text message. “These are all tools in the toolkit, and no single method will reach 100% of the people, 100% of the time,” says Gheran. “It is better than it’s ever been, and all the tools help get people the right information at the right time.”

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, training, community safety education and notification. Further information can be found at www.nrcaer.com