From May 2 to 8, Saskatchewan will be recognizing Emergency Preparedness Week, and for the first time, the Martensville Fire Department is taking part. This week, the MFD will be sharing information about how to best be prepared for an emergency situation via their Facebook page.
This is a week that the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is using to remind residents to think about their risks, make a plan and prepare an emergency kit. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” SPSA President Marlo Pritchard said. “Emergency Preparedness Week is a great time to think about what can happen to your home, property or family and take action to be prepared.”
The SPSA will be conducting a test of the Alert Ready system at approximately 1:55pm on Wednesday, May 5.
Deputy Fire Chief Dean Brooman is also looking to conduct a test of our local emergency response system through the City of Martensville – Notify Now. If you haven’t already signed up for this, you can do so by visiting www.martensville.ca, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the ‘Notify Now’ option in the bottom right-hand corner. “We recommend signing up for both our local system, and the province-wide system. The nice thing about the province-wide alert is that it will update you as to what is going on wherever you are in Saskatchewan,” Brooman said.
Brooman explained that the MFD would be sharing tips and tricks for residents that can help them ensure they are as prepared as possible for a at least a 72-hour period in the event of an emergency such as an extended power outage, local flooding, severe weather, fire, evacuation, etc.
The MFD has been working closely with the Red Cross as part of the EMO Plan (Emergency Measures Organization) and can now contact them if there is a family or families in need following a fire. “We can call them in and they will come and help with that family – getting them to a hotel and having them set up for 72 hours so they are taken care of while their insurance kicks in, or until family can help out. We have also talked to them about larger scale things such as a condo fire or something of that nature where there are more people affected. They have been very efficient and great to work with. We have set some things in place already and that has helped out tremendously,” Brooman explained.
For some, it may seem far-fetched to think of a major emergency situation happening in Martensville, but in reality, it is quite possible. Just this past winter, there were many Saskatchewan residents left without power following a winter storm, so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared – just in case.
When it comes to preparing, one of the things that Brooman said is recommended is to have an emergency kit in your home. This can include: water (2L/person/day) non-perishable foods, can opener, flashlight (crank powered, or have extra batteries packed), radio (battery or crank), first-aid kit, cash, etc.
“It is a good idea to sit down with your family and talk things out. Have a plan in place where you know how you would connect in case of an emergency and weren’t together, how do you turn off the water and breakers in your home, where the emergency kit is stored and things like that. These are things that we should know, and be educating our children about,” Brooman added.
For more information on how to plan for an emergency situation, visit www.getprepared.ca.
