Emergency Planning
What Constitutes an Emergency or Disaster?
British Columbia's Emergency Program Act provides the following definitions:
| emergency: a present or imminent event or circumstance that (a) is caused by accident, fire, explosion, technical failure or by the forces of nature, and (b) requires prompt coordination of action or special regulation of persons or property to protect the health, safety or welfare of a person or to limit damage to property. |
| disaster: a calamity that (a) is caused by accident, fire, explosion or technical failure or by the forces of nature, and (b) has resulted in serious harm to the health, safety or welfare of people, or in widespread damage to property. |
Emergencies/disasters that can affect a community include:
- fire
- wildland interface fire
- hazardous materials incident
- flood or flash flood
- mudslides
- hurricane
- tornado
- winter storm
- earthquake
- communications failure
- radiological accident
- civil disturbance
- explosion
- biological agent release (bioterrorism)
The Process of Emergency Management
| Emergency management can be defined as "a process to reduce loss of life and property and to protect assets from all types of hazards through a comprehensive, risk-based, emergency management program of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery." An Emergency Plan documents the elements of the process. |
Emergency management begins with an emergency plan which encompasses all hazards and all related planning areas, including emergency planning preparedness and hazard identification and mitigation, emergency response, use of the Incident Command System, disaster recovery and related areas.
Any emergency management initiative must start with an inventory of risks and an assessment of the exposure from these risks with the desired outcome of creating a workable emergency management program. Infrastructure issues will likely be seen as presenting the most risk. The key steps in emergency management are:
- Context
- Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA)
- Mitigation
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
Context refers to the circumstances in which an event occurs. The context of an event affects the impact that it has on the community. How a community is affected by a disaster depends on the hazards it faces, its geographical location, and how the community has planned for the event.
Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA) provides a community with the means to make risk-based choices to address vulnerabilities, mitigate hazards and prepare for response to and recovery from hazardous events.
Mitigation is defined as the activities and practices designed to prevent or avoid a disaster, or to minimize the impact on the community. Improved practices can minimize future problems, save lives, and reduce injuries. Such practices can also save public and private money over the long term.
Preparedness is defined as the activities preparing for an emergency before it occurs and includes: planning for effective response to and recovery from disasters; arranging for both internal and external resources to be available when needed; providing everyone who has a role during a disaster, from first responders to members of the public, with the education and training needed to respond effectively; providing education to increase public awareness about emergency preparedness; conducting training and exercises; evaluating emergency plans and revising plans and procedures.
Response is defined as the activities designed to address the short-term effects of a disaster. This includes agency response, resource coordination, organizational structure and communication.
Recovery is defined as the activities and/or process of returning to normal. Recovery also reduces the future vulnerability of the community and improves planning for future events.
(a) Short-term recovery from a disaster returns vital life support systems to minimum operating standards.
(b) Long-term recovery may continue for years. Everyone in a community will be involved in recovery, including all levels of government, the business sector, families, and individuals.
The Incident Command System
The Incident Command System (ICS) provides a management structure and system for conducting on-site operations. It is applicable to small-scale daily operational activities as well as major emergencies/disasters.
ICS provides incident site personnel and operational staff with a standardized operational structure and common terminology, thereby providing a useful and flexible management system that is particularly adaptable to incidents involving multi-jurisdictional or multi-disciplinary responses.
ICS provides the flexibility needed to rapidly activate and establish an organizational format around the functions that need to be performed.
| British Columbia Emergency Response Management System |
| The Province of British Columbia emergency management community has developed and adopted BCERMS (British Columbia Emergency Response Management System). BCERMS is a comprehensive management system based upon the Incident Command System (ICS) that ensures a coordinated and organized response to and recovery from all emergency incidents and disasters. It provides the framework for a standardized emergency response in British Columbia. |
Local Government
In British Columbia., local government leads the initial response to emergencies and disasters in each community. As required by law, (Emergency Program Act - LOCAL AUTHORITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REGULATION) local government is required to prepare emergency plans and maintain an emergency management organization. This is to ensure the safety of citizens when a situation escalates beyond the first responder level. |
How WCES Can Assist with Emergency Planning Needs
WCES provides a unique resource for both public and private sector organizations,
offering expertise and knowledge in emergency planning, training, risk/threat assessment, contingency planning, and operational response.
WCES can provide:
- Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA)
- development of a comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
- design of Standard Operating Procedures
- development of EOC organization, EOC manual, and Staff Action Guides for each EOC position
- development of Field Operating Guides for emergency/disaster responders
- Emergency Management Program review
- Emergency Operations Center review
- development of local evacuation and shelter-in-place plans and procedures
- Incident Command System training
- training, exercises and drills based on emergency plans
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