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Training critical to emergency plans

Training exercise arranged by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District provides co-ordinated response to mock-emergency

Emergency preparedness has been in the forefront as of late. The Fort McMurray fire has had a lot of people assessing how prepared they are should a catastrophic event occur closer to home, and what they might grab if made to evacuate their homes. Perhaps some people have even been inspired to go a step or two further by developing personal evacuation plans and putting together emergency kits, for home and the car.

Of course, practice is required for those plans to be effective.

When things hit the fan, planning and practice can provide that beam of orderly light that cuts through the cloud of chaos. They offer needed guidance when people are running on adrenaline, and help keep things and people, together.

A training exercise arranged by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s Shuswap Emergency Program, and hosted by the District of Sicamous and Waterway Houseboats, brought together CSRD firefighters, BC Ambulance paramedics, local search and rescue groups and other emergency responders – about 200 people total. They worked together through the exercise, providing a co-ordinated response to mock-emergency scenarios on land and on water.

It’s fair to say the exercise was nowhere near the scope of the Fort McMurray emergency, let alone the flooding event of 2012 that decimated parts of Two Mile, including the Waterway’s site where this training exercise was held. While the latter incident was handled well, with no lives lost, there were areas where things could have been improved. Saturday’s emergency training event made that clear, demonstrating how planning, practice and co-ordination can allow for cooler heads to prevail.