Hub Staff

Bruce County announced October 1 an update to their Emergency Response Plan (ERP).

"While Bruce County is a safe place to live, work and play, emergencies can happen any where and at any time," said the County in a media release October 1, adding that through its Emergency Management Plan, the County is responsible for ensuring emergency response is effectively coordinated.

The ERP details how the county will coordinate with municipalities and communities and external partner organizations before, during and after an emergency occurs.

"Emergencies threaten public safety, public health, the environment, property, continuity of government operations, critical infrastructure, and economic stability," the release read, adding that it's not a matter of "if" an emergency will occur but "when" and effective management requires a coordinated response between the County and municipalities, First Nations communities, first responders, school boards, hospitals. Working with private industry, critical infrastructure owners and operators and neighbouring counties is often also required.

Training is a legislated piece of Emergency Management (EM) and the EM team has developed a training program for identified County staff. This program will help develop the skills and resources that will be needed in an emergency.

Ray Lux, Bruce County Emergency Management Coordinator, said that the Plan outlines not only how the County will coordinate at the County level but also how they will work to "prevent, mitigate and prepare for many types of emergencies" and "assist in the recovery efforts post-emergency."

Lux added that their goal is to ensure that Bruce County is safe, practiced and prepared for an emergency and that they have the ability to respond in a coordinated and proactive manner.

For more information, visit www.brucecounty.on.ca/getprepared.

Building from the newly updated Emergency Response Plan, the Emergency Management team has a robust training and exercise program for identified County Staff. Training and exercises are legislated pieces of Emergency Management and are an important part of developing skills, knowledge, and resources to deal with an emergency. The Bruce County Emergency Management Program runs an exercise for staff yearly at minimum and provides ongoing training throughout the year.

“The Bruce County Emergency Response Plan outlines how Bruce County will coordinate not only a County-level response to an emergency, but it also outlines how we will work to prevent, mitigate, and prepare for many types of emergencies. The plan also addresses how the County will assist in the recovery efforts post-emergency,” said Ray Lux, Bruce County Emergency Management Coordinator. “Our goal is to ensure that Bruce County is safe, practiced, and prepared for an emergency and that we can respond in a coordinated and proactive manner ensuring a successful recovery. The newly updated Bruce County Emergency Response Plan lays a foundation for that work.”

Discover more about Emergency Preparedness at www.brucecounty.on.ca/getprepared.