|
The City of Pickering has established
a formal Community Emergency Management Program to deal with major
emergencies or crises. The Program applies to a range of community
events that could affect a significant part of the city and its
population. It is designed to effectively manage resources that are
used to handle events like ice storms, tornados, floods, acts of
terrorism, large fires, hazardous materials incidents, etc. The
Program also covers nuclear
emergencies, during which the City would assist the Province of
Ontario and the Region of Durham in providing public safety
services.
To
deal with community emergency situations, City staff members from
key areas have been organized into a Municipal
Control Group. In the event of a community emergency, the
Municipal Control Group is dispatched to the City’s Municipal Emergency Operations Centre
in Claremont, where the emergency situation is strategically managed
to assist the on-scene emergency responders who operate under the Emergency
Management Model.
To
ensure all members of the City’s Municipal Control Group are fully
trained and able to deal with emergency situations, the City has
established community
emergency plans and procedures and provides emergency
training exercises on a regular basis.
To assist members of the community with their own emergency
preparedness efforts, the Program includes a public
education component.
Additional
emergency management information can be
obtained from the Durham
Emergency Measures Office, Emergency
Management Ontario, Ontario
Power Generation, and Public
Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada.
|
Quick
Links for this page |
|
|
|
Municipal
Control Group
The
Municipal Control Group (MCG)
consists of approximately 50 City staff members and representatives
of other supporting organizations, including Durham Region Police
Services and Ajax/Pickering Transit Authority. The MCG
is supervised by the Chief Administrative Officer who performs the
role of the Operations Officer.
The MCG is organized into five teams, each with specific
roles and responsibilities. Every team and team member has an
emergency "job description" to ensure that there is no
overlap of responsibilities and that the MCG works efficiently in
the MOC. The five teams are:

Municipal Emergency Operations Centre
In
1997, the City established a Municipal Emergency Operations Centre (MEOC)
in the newly constructed Claremont Community Centre. The MEOC was
located in Claremont in order to be outside of a 10 kilometer radius
from the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, as required by the
Provincial Nuclear Emergency Plan.
The MEOC
provides a "permanent-ready" facility to strategically
manage emergencies in the City of Pickering.
It is fully furnished with the necessary plans, maps and
communication equipment for use during an emergency. In the event of
an emergency, trained City staff are dispatched to the MEOC
to deal with the situation.
MEOC
panorama (QuickTime movie) Visit
the Apple
website to download the free viewer software
MEOC
Floor Plan

Emergency
Site Management
On-scene
emergency response agencies are organized under the Emergency
Site Management process during community emergencies.
Senior representatives from the emergency response agencies
(ambulance, fire, police, etc.) form the Emergency Site Management
Team to provide the operational functions of incident management
while under the strategic direction of the Municipal Control Group
in the MEOC.
Emergency
Management Model

Emergency
Classifications
Emergencies
in Durham region are grouped into three emergency
classifications and a set of unique categories under each.

Community
Emergency
Plans and Procedures
The
City of Pickering in conjunction with the Province of Ontario, the
Region of Durham, the two school boards, other local municipalities,
and Ontario Power Generation have prepared various emergency plans
and procedures for use during an emergency.
The following is a partial list of City documents that
complement numerous other outside agency plans and procedures:
-
Community
Emergency Management Plan
-
Municipal Emergency Operations Centre
Procedures
-
Municipal
Control Group Notification Procedure
-
Emergency
Contact Directory
-
Departmental/Divisional/Agency
Response Plans
-
Nuclear
Emergency Management Plan
-
Evacuation/Transportation
Plan
-
Public
Information Plan
-
Recovery
Plan (draft)

Nuclear
Emergencies
If a nuclear emergency
were declared, the public may receive notification and specific
information via special radio or television broadcasts from various
broadcasters that serve the Durham area, and an automated telephone
calling service. The City of Pickering's website may also contain
information about the emergency and what to do. Information may
include the need to evacuate to reception centres or instructions to
stay indoors (referred to as sheltering). The Bell Canada Durham
Telephone Directory contains a Red
Page on the last page of the publication that provides some
quick reference information about nuclear emergencies. Additional
nuclear emergency information can be obtained from the Province
of Ontario and the Region
of Durham. Please note that the Nuclear Emergency Information
brochure that was previously distributed is no longer current and
should be destroyed.

Emergency
Training Exercises
City
Staff and their emergency partners regularly undertake formal
emergency education and training through attendance at seminars and
participation in emergency exercises.
In 1995 and 1999, City staff participated directly in two
provincial nuclear training exercises. In 2000, staff attended a
provincial nuclear exercise held at the Bruce Nuclear Generating
Station to review and evaluate the effectiveness of that exercise.
In April 2001, a simulated hazardous material exercise was
conducted for the City’s emergency staff. That exercise tested the
City’s emergency plans and procedures and provided valuable
training for City staff. Emergency
partners from the Region of Durham, Town of Ajax, City of Oshawa,
and the Municipality of Clarington also participated in the
exercise, as did industry representatives from Dupont Canada.
In October of 2003, Pickering hosted another
provincial nuclear training exercise that tested the City,
Region, and Provincial Nuclear Emergency Plans and Procedures.

Public
Education
The
public is encouraged to play an active role in preparing for major
emergencies to augment the services that City officials provide.
The
following publications regarding Family and Community Preparedness
may be obtained through the Safe
Guard link:
-
Basic
Rescue Skills
-
Canadian
Hazards Map
-
Emergency
Preparedness Digest
-
Expect
The Unexpected
-
Floods:
What To Do Before And After
-
Prepare
to Survive a Major Earthquake
-
Prepared
for the Woods
-
Severe
Storms
-
Winter
Driving
-
Winter
Power Failures
The
Region
of Durham, City
of Toronto, and Region
of York also provide a set of lists that homeowners can use
to develop their own plans.
Owners
and managers of large and/or high risk facilities are encouraged to
follow the emergency planning process that is outlined at the
Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal’s Emergency
Building Measures website.

Emergency
Public Information
During
any kind of community emergency, the City of Pickering's website
will be updated to provide current information about the ongoing
event. Information can also be obtained by telephoning 905.420.4666
during an emergency.

Obtaining
Additional Information
Additional
information can be obtained during normal business hours by
contacting Deputy Fire Chief Simon Almond at 905.420.4660 ext. 2180
or 2181, or by email to salmond@city.pickering.on.ca
|