INNISFAIL - Innisfail is ready for an emergency.
The town and several other municipalities have been preparing for disaster situations since a regional emergency management plan was finalized in May.
Innisfail, Red Deer County and area municipalities worked together in a two-day mock disaster scenario on Nov. 22 and 23. That situation involved a train derailment along the Blindman River north of Red Deer.
“We're continuing to train. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency has given us additional training, some of which we're taking part in on November 22 and 23 (near) Lacombe,” said Gary Leith, fire chief and director of emergency management for the Town of Innisfail. “We'll continue to work collaboratively with neighbouring municipalities to continue to provide a safe community.”
The regional emergency management plan includes a mutual aid agreement with 13 municipalities surrounding Red Deer County, including Innisfail, Bowden, Penhold, Delburne, Elnora and Sylvan Lake.
The regional plan has been in the works for close to three years and once finalized last spring, was put to use in the first mock disaster held in Innisfail this summer.
The mock exercise was entitled Operation Good Neighbour.
“We just finalized everything in May. This was the first part of our collective training,” said Ric Henderson, director of emergency management for Red Deer County. “We have the regional emergency plan that we just created and that's what we're exercising today. Bringing people from all the different communities together.”
Henderson said the emergency plan and mock disaster will help municipalities in the area deal with large-scale emergencies.
“We have to help each other,” he said. “Nobody can have enough resources to deal with something on the scope of what we're doing today.”
The first mock scenario this summer involved a tornado hitting the town of Bowden that included five fatalities and about 100 injured people.
“The infrastructures are damaged there so we activated the emergency coordination centre here in Innisfail,” said Henderson, noting the Innisfail centre was inside at the local fire hall while a mock incident command post was outside, simulating the site in Bowden where the disaster occurred.
Emergency personnel inside the coordination centre organized fire, police and ambulance services. They provided continuous updates in several areas, including safety, logistics, and others pertaining to the mock emergency situation in Bowden.
“People on site have to update (appropriate personnel) on what's going on so that the emergency coordination centre can get them the resources they need,” said Henderson.
During a mock press conference Leith outlined the emergency protocols in place, as well as the reception centres for citizens to use for shelter and to receive information, including safety messages.
Gary Leith, fire chief and director of emergency management for the Town of Innisfail
"The Alberta Emergency Management Agency has given us additional training. We'll continue to work collaboratively with neighbouring municipalities to continue to provide a safe community."
