Vernon ready to tackle a disaster

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: November 17, 2009 7:00 PM

It’s a place City of Vernon officials hope to avoid as much as possible, but they are reassured of its presence during a disaster. The city has officially relocated its emergency operations centre to the second floor of the Telus building on Coldstream Avenue. “You hope you don’t use it but it’s behind the scenes all of the time,” said Brent Watson, emergency program co-ordinator. Telus will use the room regularly for training, but when an emergency strikes — whether it is a fuel leak, flood or wildfire — Watson, other city staff and volunteers will converge to cope with the situation. “I can pretty much roll this out and get things going in 20 minutes,” said Watson of all of the necessary equipment being in one place. Previously, the EOC was located at the Vernon fire hall, and the cramped quarters were inadequate. “There were space concerns and stuff was stored upstairs and downstairs,” said Watson. “We couldn’t event contemplate a level three (major incident) in the other facility.”

For a standard emergency, the new EOC will house 15 to 20 people but that could climb to more than 50 during a level three scenario, such as the recent Terrace Mountain blaze. “This provides site support to fire, police, public works and ambulance,” said Watson of the EOC being in constant contact with emergency crews out in the field. Throughout the vast room, various stations are set up according to specific tasks — logistics, operations, planning and administration, where Watson would sit with the emergency director and information and risk management personnel. Communications technology has been upgraded, including installment of a giant white board allows officials to physically map areas out. A big screen TV can provide in-house information or access to the media coverage. Elsewhere in the building, there are meeting rooms and a sizable kitchen. “It’s one of the most advanced EOCs in the region, if not the Interior,” said Watson.

“It’s a major milestone for emergency preparedness. We’re well equipped for anything in the future.” The Telus building was selected as the site of the new EOC because it is central and its height provides the ability to see across the community. It’s brick construction also means it will likely remain standing during a disaster. “It’s one of the more resistant buildings in the Okanagan for earthquakes or explosions,” said Watson. Telus is providing the space free of charge to the city, and the corporation was heavily involved in ensuring up-to-date technology is in place. “This is the culmination of months of planning,” said Steve Jenkins, Telus’ Southern Interior general manager for customer solutions delivery. As a result of Telus not charging rent, the city only had to invest $9,000 in terms of communications upgrades. “It’s very efficient and much needed,” said Coun. Patrick Nicol of the EOC. “It started out as a germ of an idea and it’s worked out positively.” As Vernon and Coldstream partner in emergency programming, the facility will also serve as a backup EOC for Coldstream if its municipal office is closed because of an incident.