‘Mock disaster’ planned for Town of Oyen June 22

By Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Your West Central Voice

OYEN—Town of Oyen residents need not be concerned about a large number of emergency vehicles in their community Monday, June 22, as a regional emergency management exercise is scheduled to take place. In past years, such an exercise may have been referred to as a “mock disaster.”

Special Areas Regional Emergency Management Partnership (SA-REMP) exercises like the one scheduled for Oyen on June 22 can help reduce or avoid emergencies such as the CFB Suffield wildfire in 2017. PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL AREAS BOARD/CAM KLATT.

The Special Areas Regional Emergency Management Partnership (SA-REMP) will conduct the event with its partners, including the Villages of Consort, Empress, Veteran and Youngstown, the Towns of Hanna and Oyen, and the M.D. of Acadia.

Town of Oyen Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Sacha Martens confirmed the municipality is the site of the “live-action” event, along with many partners in regional emergency management. She said residents who see a lot of activity should view it much like an emergency phone test.

“This is a test alert only,” said Martens by phone June 18, noting these exercises are mandated by the Government of Alberta.

A press release from Special Areas noted such an event increases preparedness.

“The exercise is designed to test and strengthen regional emergency response coordination, communication and decision-making in a simulated emergency scenario,” stated Special Areas. “Participants will include municipal staff, emergency management personnel and partner agencies.

“In rural communities, municipalities often rely on one another during emergencies through mutual aid agreements and shared regional resources. Exercises like this help ensure communities can respond together quickly and effectively when local emergencies exceed the capacity of a single local authority.”

Martens said participants are not notified beforehand of the exercise’s details. They will find out when the event begins, essentially dealing with the exercise just as they would in a real emergency or disaster. Participants will set up their management locations and travel to actual spots where the “emergency” is unfolding.

“This is to identify gaps,” said Martens.

From her past experience in local government, Martens noted preparation is vitally important because so many things need to be done while there is only a limited amount of time to do them all. She pointed out details such as equipment compatibility can turn out to be very important during an emergency.

Special Areas also noted in its press release that exercise activity may be noticeable, but residents have no cause for alarm.

“While no public action is required, residents may notice additional vehicles, personnel and emergency management activity in and around the Town of Oyen throughout the exercise,” stated Special Areas.

The exercises are required by law, according to the Government of Alberta.

“Every four years, each local authority in Alberta must engage in at least one functional exercise, where participants carry out actions as if responding to a likely significant emergency or disaster within their boundaries, in accordance with the local authority’s emergency plan, but do not deploy personnel or other resources,” stated the government’s website.

Martens observed regional emergency management stakeholders deserve a great deal of credit for making these events successful.

The CAO noted such exercises essentially protect the public by scrutinizing the system for cracks that need to be filled.

“There are always lessons learned,” said Martens. “You have to be prepared. So I think these exercises are invaluable.”