Emergency Preparedness

An emergency is a situation that

is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other health risk, an accident or an act (intentional or otherwise), and that
could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property.

Everyone should know the risks, be prepared and plan for any emergency. This includes home owners, residents, agencies, first responders and the Town of Saugeen Shores.

By planning and preparing, you will be able to better cope when an emergency arises.

The Town of Saugeen Shores has prepared a Community Emergency Plan based on the most probable incidents with the highest level of consequences identified that will allow all departments to train and prepare in the event of a local disaster.

Community Emergency Management Coordinator

The Community Emergency Management Coordinator (CEMC) develops and implements emergency response plans for the Town of Saugeen Shores to include:

supporting plans for high risks (e.g. hazardous facilities, nuclear incidents, severe weather, transportation accidents, critical infrastructure etc.) and,
the maintenance of the essential level program as per the present provincial regulations.

The CEMC is on call 24/7 to respond to emergencies in the municipality.

Types of emergencies

Emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time. They are unpredictable and can change quickly. There are many types of emergencies that can happen in our area, including:

Community risks

Saugeen Shores features a lakefront, a large river, one of the area's major road links and is close to a nuclear facility. This means we have identified the following community risks for our area:

Critical infrastructure failures
Hazardous materials releases
Severe storms, including windstorms, snowstorms, blizzards and lightning storms
Transportation accident causing chemical release
Long-term hydro outage

Each of the community's major emergency risks are identified in the Town of Saugeen Shores Emergency Response Plan. The plan outlines the procedures we take to address each emergency. See the section below for more details on the plan.

Preparing for an emergency

Even though an emergency may seem unlikely, it is very important to be as prepared as possible. You should keep an emergency kit and supplies with you to sustain those in your home for up to 72 hours.

The Province of Ontario outlines how to make an emergency plan that protects those in your home.

Download an Emergency Preparedness Guide from Public Safety Canada that will help you and your family support yourselves for up to 72 hours with an emergency kit, if emergency workers cannot reach you immediately. Learn more at Public Safety Canada.

Community Emergency Plan

We have developed a Community Emergency Plan that guides our staff and leadership on how to help residents in the event of an emergency in the Town. The Plan outlines our emergency response procedures for identified community emergencies. Our staff are well trained to respond to many different situations, and participate in emergency exercises on a regular basis.

Emergency Control Group

The Town's Emergency Control Group oversees emergency management issues, like:

Mitigation
Planning
Training
Public education
Response
Recovery

The group also communicates with the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada if the situation requires it.

Our Director of Fire Services/Fire Chief is the Town's Community Emergency Management Coordinator (CEMC), responsible for our Emergency Management Program.

You can contact the CEMC at 519-389-6120 for more information.