The Town of Carlyle and the R.M. of Moose Mountain are proactively preparing a community emergency plan - and they want area residents and business owners to follow their lead.
“To the best of the community's ability, the Town and the R.M. are prepared for an area-wide emergency,” says Lorri Matthewson of Solomon-Matthewson Consulting. “But no matter where you live, there is simply not enough staff to assist every person in a community emergency situation, so as a community, we have to help ourselves and each other.”
Matthewson - along with Emergency Management Officer Brent Stillwell and Martine Stillwell of The Co-operators Insurance - conducted a free seminar entitled 'Plan. Prepare. Practice.' on Thursday, May 24 in Carlyle on community, business, and individual emergency preparedness. Attendees were informed about the Community Safety Plan for the Town of Carlyle and the R.M. of Moose Mountain (co-sponsors of the event) and also learned about what local residents could do to prepare their families, properties, and businesses in the event of a large-scale emergency such as a toranado, flooding or fire.
Emergency Management Officer for both the Town of Carlyle and the R.M. of Moose Mountain, Brent Stillwell says: “My main concerns for our local area would be a tornado or hazardous spills. But as we've learned from Slave Lake and Fort Mac, fire is always a concern. Those are just a few things that can turn into a community-wide emergency pretty quickly.”
Martine Stillwell agrees, adding that although many emergencies cannot be prevented, the effects of such events can be minimized by: “Insurance preparation for individuals and insurance preparation for businesses.”
“The most important thing you can do from an insurance standpoint is to get to know what's on your insurance policy,” says Martine. “Know what you are covered for - and remember, they are living policies that can be changed to suit your circumstances.”
“Another thing that's really important is to make sure your insurance company has your updated cell phone number and email address, because in the event of a community emergency, that's how your insurance provider will get information out to you.”
“There are some other things homeowners and business owners can do to prepare,” adds Martine. “Take photos of documents like your birth certificate, passport, health card and have those numbers handy. If they're stored somewhere like on your cellphone, that will help a lot if you're displaced from your home. Do a personal property inventory - room by room - there are forms available to download or even take photos of each room. Put it on a memory stick and put it in your safe deposit box.”
“A lot of these things are pretty simple, but in an emergency, the better you're prepared, the easier it will be to deal with - and that goes for both residents and businesses.”
Brent says that in the event of an emergency in the Town of Carlyle, plans are in place, but residents must recognize that there are simply not enough emergency responders to carry out a large-scale evacuation without the cooperation and assistance of local residents.
“There are 1,500 people in town,” he says. “And right now there are 24 to 30 firefighters at any given time. We have 5 or 6 trucks available, so it's pretty clear that we can't possibly be everywhere.”
“Logistically, it's just not possible, so we need people to help themselves, help their families and help their neighbours.”
“In a rural area like ours, communities the same size as us will be the first to help us and we have reciprocal agreements with a lot of them,” explains Brent. “But that still means that our closest help is a half an hour away and even STARS is an hour away, so it's important that people stay informed and follow instructions from the Town.”
“Another thing I would add is please don't take photos of an emergency situation and post them on social media,” he says. “There are privacy issues - especially if there are casualities – and it also gets in the way of the work that first responders do.”
“There will be updates and information on the Town of Carlyle's Facebook page and website and these are set up to carry notifications for both the Town and the R.M.,” says Matthewson. “And in an emergency situation, that's the best way to use social media.”
“When you have to evacuate, notification is attempted, but not guaranteed,” she continues. “And it may mean people going door-to-door. But it's really important to help those who may not be online. As Brent said, our emergency responders will deal with the worst things first and it's impossible for them to evacuate everyone. We have to help each other in a situation like that.”
“There will be evacuation routes and other information updates,” adds Matthewson. “And although things can change in an emergency, right now, the Town of Carlyle and area's go-to place is Prairie Place in Arcola, unless otherwise noted.”
Matthewson says that if a resident is out of town during an emergency, the free Sask Alerts app will notify users of emergencies in their communities wherever they are. “I've personally found it really helpful,” she says. “But there are a lot of things we as individuals and as members of a community can do to prepare for an emergency.”
“You can prepare a safety kit, have copies of your prescriptions, Have some cash, make sure you have a full tank of gas in your vehicle, and have a filter or tablets that will make drinking water potable. There are lists avaiable and you'll probably need a suitcase or a hockey bag to store it, but it's worth it.”
“You also need a plan in place for your pets, because a lot of shelters can't take them, due to people's allergies and other concerns.”
“It's a lot to consider,” says Matthewson. “The Town of Carlyle and the R.M. are working hard to have an emergency plan and a communication method which will give residents of our community information that is relevant and bot contradictory.”
“For our part, we can help our community by doing our best to take individual responsibility in order to prepare ourselves and to help our neighbours in the event of an emergency.”
“It's all about the community helping each other.”
