After Burnaby residents hunkered down last weekend, taking shelter from the storm in their darkened houses, talk in the media turned to eAfter Burnaby residents hunkered down last weekend, taking shelter from the storm in their darkened houses, talk in the media turned to emergency preparedness.
That is a good thing, according to Burnaby’s emergency response coordinator, Charmaigne Pflugrath.
“This was an excellent exercise for people to revisit what it is that they’ve got in place, if anything,” she told the NOW.
While some people do have emergency supplies tucked away, they aren’t always easily accessible, she pointed out, adding people often don’t plan beyond that.
“It’s fine to have your emergency supplies, but you really do need to have a family emergency plan,” Pflugrath said.
Families should discuss what they’ll do if they’re separated, what home hazards they might encounter in an emergency and how and why they might need their emergency supplies, she explained.
Those in single-family residences can store their supplies and emergency plan in a new garbage can and keep it outside their house for easy access, she suggested. And people who are avid campers already have many of the supplies they might need in an emergency.
“People that go camping forget how prepared they really are,” she said. “You already have your bits and pieces all ready to go camping, it just may not be easily accessible were there to be structural damage.”
Residents should also make sure to consider their pets while planning, she added.
“I do really want residents to make sure they are themselves prepared but to also have stuff in place for their pets,” Pflugrath said. “People forget that their pets need to be prepared, too, and they are a very important member of our family.”
Individuals with specific needs that may be affected by a power outage can be especially vulnerable in an emergency situation, she pointed out.
People using electric-powered wheelchairs, or those on dialysis, need to consider what their needs will be in an emergency and discuss the issue with caregivers, as well, she added.
Businesses need a contingency plan, to ensure they can keep operating, she said, suggesting options such as backing up data files at other locations or backing up to the Cloud, and using double-entry ledgers for sales transactions until power is restored.
After last week’s windstorm, Pflugrath had one more tip for Burnaby residents – brush up on four-way stop procedures, in case traffic lights are down.
“I encourage people to go onto ICBC’s (website) and review the new driver documents, just to make sure you’ve got that recollection in, to remember what it is that you’re supposed to be doing,” she said.
The windstorm affected city facilities as well, she confirmed.
“City hall complex was without power, as were all of our fire halls, the RCMP detachment, a number of other sites were,” she said. “Some sites were not; some sites were experiencing temporary interruptions.”
She commended city staff, including Burnaby firefighters and public works staff, for working extremely hard to keep people safe.
Burnaby will have another chance to test its emergency preparedness soon, with the Great British Columbia Shakeout next month, and Pflugrath said residents should take the opportunity to get planning.
“Don’t forget to shakeout on the 15th,” she said. “And make sure that you register at shakeoutbc.ca.”
For more on preparing for emergencies, go to http://tinyurl.com/BBYEmergency.
