Our guest presenter today was Jude Kelly, introduced by President Richard.
Jude Kelly is a Communications/Public Education Officer with the provincial Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) and brings more than 20 years communications, media and public education experience to the job. He has worked as a journalist and media relations officer for a number of Ontario government ministries. He has won awards from the Saskatchewan Reporters’ Association, and the Ontario and federal governments for outstanding work in journalism and public education.
At OFMEM, Jude has worked in the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre, helping coordinate emergency information and key messaging for nearly every declared community or provincial emergency since 2002, including various ice storms, tornadoes, floods and power outages.
The Office of the Fire Marshall and Emergency Management works within the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Part of the mandate of the Ministry is to coordinating public safety initiatives among municipal, fire and emergency services organizations within and outside of Ontario including:
• Municipalities
• Provincial ministries & federal government
• NGOs – Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Salvation Army, Service organizations & volunteer groups (Mennonite Disaster Service)
• Electrical utilities, property management
• Industry groups – Ontario Association of Emergency Managers, media, blogger
Typical Emergencies include:
• Power outages, floods, highway closures
• Train derailments, Public transit shutdown
• Severe weather, health emergencies, technology & infrastructure failure
An Emergency Response Plan is a plan of action for the efficient deployment and coordination of services and personnel to provide the earliest response to an emergency. At the federal, provincial and municipal levels in Canada emergency preparedness is well established and all seven local municipalities in Waterloo Region each have their own Emergency Response Plans. They have the responsibility for the initial response to an emergency.
However, many individuals are not as prepared for a potential emergency as they could and should be. Jude outlined a Five Step Plan for individuals and families to be better prepared.
• Step 1: Make a family emergency plan
• Step 2: Prepare an emergency survival kit
• Step 3: Consider any special needs
• Step 4: Don’t forget your pets
• Step 5: Practice
Make a Family Plan
• Learn about hazards in your community
• Find out how you will be informed of an emergency - e.g. radio/TV, social media, door-to-door from first responders
• Pick two meeting places – one outside your home and another outside your neighbourhood
• Choose an out of area contact – someone family members can call or e-mail in case of an emergency
Prepare an Emergency Kit
• Flashlight, crank radio, spare batteries
• First-aid kit, candles/glow stick & matches/lighter
• Extra car/home keys, cash, copies of important papers (home insurance, ID)
• Food, can opener, blankets, clothing, footwear, toiletries
• Bottled water, playing cards, games, whistle
• Backpack, suitcase, gym bag to hold all the item
Consider Special Needs
- Family members with disabilities
- Pets
Several brochures from OFMEM are available:
- Emergency Preparedness Guide For People with Disabilities/Special Needs (available in several languages including braille)
- Emergency Preparedness Starts with You! (For children)
- We Need To Be Prepared For an Emergency Too (Deals with Pets)
- Ontario Seniors: How to Be Prepared for an Emergency
Copies of these four items were left with us, if you were not able to attend the meeting you can get one next meeting.
The OFMEM uses two main ways to communicate during emergencies.
Alert Ready
• Alert Ready delivers critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians through TV, radio and cell phones.
• Only for cell phones & devices that are LTE, 4G or WPA-compatible.
• Another national test scheduled for 1:55 pm, Nov. 28th
• The following types of alerts are broadcast
o Urban Fire
o Natural disasters
o Biological
o Hazardous/Explosives
o Environmental
o Terrorist threat
o Civil emergency, including Amber Alert
They also use Twitter
• Follow us @OntarioWarnings or @AlertesOntario
• Used to disseminate Alerts and other emergency information
• Updated during emergencies with preparedness tips, links and statements from government officials
• Used to promote public education initiatives
