An emergency can happen with little warning, and Okotoks Fire Services wants residents to be prepared in case disaster strikes.
“Sometimes there’s just no time to be prepared,” said deputy fire chief Danny Freeman. “This is just not the floods we’ve experienced, but even a grassfire could take out a good corner of this town, and we’d better be prepared to evacuate and very quickly.”
Fires can spread fast if the wind is right – like the 100 km/hr winds that brought emergency situations to Slave Lake in 2011 and Fort McMurray in 2016, he said.
He said there could be situations where fire department resources are spread thin and help to individual residents could be a long time coming.
“When citizens have an issue at their individual house we very much would have to say, ‘Okay, what’s more important here – this basement, or the whole community being flooded?’” said Freeman. “We’d have to default to looking out for the greater good of the majority more than the individual, and unfortunately that does mean people will have to wait.”
It’s important for families to have everything they need ready to go, like personal documents, food and clothing, and medications, he said.
There are conversations that need to take place – like what will happen with the family pets, which medications are needed, and who will take care of turning off the utilities to the home, he said.
Remembering the utilities is commonly overlooked, can lead to issues once the initial emergency subsides, he said. As a former member of the Calgary Fire Department, he witnessed some incidents after the 2013 flood when power, gas and water were shut down in the City’s core.
“We had a couple of pretty good high rise fires just because people were trying to get stuff so they put it on the stove and had the stove on,” said Freeman. “When the power was out that wasn’t a problem but then the power got turned on a few days later and the utilities came back on and people had tried to turn things on and forgot to turn them off.”
He said it’s also a good idea to pack a deck of cards or other small forms of entertainment into an emergency kit, because 72 hours can feel like a long time when you’re waiting for help.
Emergency blankets are a good idea, as well as flashlights, batteries, small radios, backup chargers for phones, first aid kits, pens and paper, and candles and lighters, he said.
“These kits can get quite extensive, but we would recommend you don’t let them get too big,” said Freeman.
Everyone in the household should know where to find the emergency kit and where to meet in case people are separated when disaster hits, he said.
However, it’s also important not to build a kit and then leave it alone until needed, he said. Food and medications can expire, and batteries could need to be replaced.
“Every six months, when you’re changing your batteries or checking your smoke detectors, you should check your ready-kit,” said Freeman.
To be alerted when emergency situations arise, sign up for the Safe Communities Alert Network.
For more information on 72-hour ready-kits, visit www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca.
