52 Div town hall: Emergency preparedness – engaging the community

By May Chow, Civilian Chair, 52 Division CPLC –

Do you know what to do during a disaster? Do you know who is responsible for what service when you have an emergency? At the beginning of November, the 52 Division Community Police Liaison Committee hosted a public Town Hall meeting about the subject of Emergency Preparedness. Hosted by community partner Ontario College of Art and Design, the Town Hall’s topic was to present an overview as to who does what when an emergency does happen in our city and to help ourselves and our community mobilize. 52 Division Unit Commander Superintendent Hugh Ferguson introduced each speaker and later, when the audience had the opportunity to ask questions of the experts, Hugh was also able to add some local insight on some of the concerns raised.

We had an incredible panel of guests which included: Daphne Farrell, Office of Emergency Management Ontario; Elaine Smyer, City of Toronto; Inspector Bill Neadles from Emergency Planning, Toronto Police Service and Sam D’Angelo from the University of Toronto Campus Police and Captain Joe Del Vasto, Toronto Fire Service.

Highlights of the Panelists were:

“YO YO 48” You might think that this is a colloquial “call-out”. However, Inspector Bill Neadles of the Toronto Police Service Emergency Planning Unit explained that this easy yet memorable catch-phrase simply means that, unless you are in a life-threatening situation, “you’re on your own for the first 48 hours.” Please be prepared for that possibility, and even consider assisting others in greater need. During a disaster, people may be left without assistance for an extended period of time unless they are in danger. Most of our services will be so very busy occupied dealing first with the most critical issues before they can serve lower priority calls.

Elaine Smyer from City of Toronto’s Emergency Shelter and Housing gave practical tips about what people should put in an emergency kit and store this in their homes in a convenient location. An essential kit should contain the following: flashlight and batteries, bottled water, blankets, candles, canned non-perishable foods (like tuna); a battery-operated radio, first-aid kit, etc.

Daphne Farrell from the Office of Emergency Management Ontario gave the audience an overview of the responsibility of the Provincial office. Each municipality has its own plan and the OEM coordinates these plans when the scope of a disaster affects an area that encompasses more than a single municipality.

Most people are completely unaware of what it’s like to maintain the safety for over 70,000 students, faculty and guests at an open academic institution. Sam D’Angelo from the U. of T. Campus Police presented the audience with some of the safety initiatives that are in place on campus including such important programs like WalkSafer, Building Patrols and for individuals working alone in the wee hours of the night, a Work Alone registration alert to the communications centre.

With the exception of a few, the overall response from over one hundred community members in attendance was very positive with the great majority of people wanting more practical information. In light of this, the 52 CPLC Town Hall committee have already begun to consider a follow-up of this Town Hall for next year. The next Town Hall may be more of an interactive exhibition of the various emergency and safety services where people may ask specific questions or get more detailed information about what they should do in an emergency.

If you have any comments, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please mail your suggestions to 52 Division at 255 Dundas Stret West M5T 2W5 – Attention Community Response Unit.

Echoing the Scouts motto, let’s all “Be Prepared!”