A well prepared family can cope with emergencies with increased confidence compared to one without any plan.
Creating a family emergency plan involves several key steps: planning how to communicate, identifying safe meeting locations, developing an evacuation plan and preparing an emergency kit.
On Saturday, May 3, Emergency Management Cowichan held an Emergency Preparedness Expo at Transfer Beach Park in Ladysmith, featuring a family event that brought together emergency response groups promoting emergency preparedness. The expo featured presentations and live demonstrations along with food trucks and a variety of tips on how to make an emergency preparedness plan.
Emergency Management Cowichan is a regional service of the Cowichan Valley Regional District, focusing on emergency management planning, preparedness, response, and recovery in the Cowichan Valley. The service covers the municipality of North Cowichan, the towns of Lake Cowichan and Ladysmith, the City of Duncan, and the electoral areas of the CVRD.
One of the organizations that was participating in the Expo was the Ladysmith Block Watch volunteers. The goal of the Block Watch program is to solicit community participation and build safer neighbourhoods by encouraging resident participation in crime prevention and safety. Ladysmith volunteer co-ordinator, Muriel Carlson along with other volunteers, were on hand at the Expo answering questions and doing their part to make spectators aware of how to not just keep their homes safe but to keep an eye on their neighbours.
Carlson said the group chatted with a lot of people, some of whom expressed interest in joining.
“Locally Block Watch slowed down through the COVID period and now that we have more activity with the RCMP detachment we are starting to grow again,” Carlson said.
The group has a liaison officer with the RCMP: Const. Tony Palmer.
“It’s been a large boost for the group's morale. Tony has been great and with the support of the new detachment commander, Staff Sgt. Trevor Busch, we are really looking at expanding the program over the whole town.”
Right now, according to Carlson, the local organization has eight area captains and co-captains.
“There is a very interested volunteer in the Gill Road area, so hopefully that grows and we can get King and Roland Roads into the program,” she said. "This Emergency Expo has been very positive for Block Watch. It has given us needed exposure and it’s explained to folks what we’re about and the support that it can give them. It’s neighbours looking out for neighbours.”
Those wanting to find out more about the Block Watch program in Ladysmith can contact the local RCMP detachment at 250-245-2215.
Members of the Ladysmith Fire/ Rescue department were also on hand at the Expo and brought with them the duty officer’s vehicle and the new tower (ladder) truck. One of the members there was Barry Davidson, who acted as the department spokesperson.
"It has been steady, good crowds, lots of families," Davidson said. "It’s nice to see and lots of good questions around preparedness. There's a ton of good information down here from so many organizations. Just helping people think about it, because sadly, most people don't think about this stuff until it happens to them.”
Davidson said their goal is to make sure people know what they need to do in an emergency.
"Those emergencies can be your home on fire, a local interface fire, earthquake, even flooding. Mind you, with Ladysmith built on a hillside that might be a bit tough but anything can happen and we want to make sure as many families as possible are prepared.”
The department was also looking to interest individuals in thinking about becoming a member of the fire/rescue department.
“So as far as recruiting we get a lot of interest. We're always eager to talk to people that are interested. We just want to make sure that the people that are interested understand what they're signing off for.”
“I think this event was very successful,” said Busch. “There was a very large turnout of the public and organizations that everyone could learn from.”
