Emergency Management BC

Last updated
Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (British Columbia)
Agency overview
Formed1996
Jurisdiction Province of British Columbia
Headquarters Victoria, British Columbia
Minister responsible
  • The Honourable Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Agency executives
  • Tara Richards, Deputy Minister
  • Mary Sue Maloughney, Associate Deputy Minister
Website

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR), formerly Emergency Management BC (EMBC), is a provincial government department in the Canadian province of British Columbia. EMCR works with local governments and other provincial and federal agencies year round, providing coordination and support before, during and after emergencies. EMCR is administered under the Emergency Program Act.

Contents

EMCR has its headquarters in Victoria, British Columbia, and incorporates six regional offices throughout the province in Surrey, Kamloops, Nelson, Terrace, Prince George and Victoria.

The current minister is Bowinn Ma.

British Columbia Emergency Management System

The Province of British Columbia has developed and adopted the British Columbia Emergency Management System (BCEMS).

BCEMS is a comprehensive emergency management system based on the Incident Command System (ICS). This supports a coordinated and organized response and recovery to all emergency incidents and disasters.

Emergency management planning and response

Multi-agency hazard plans for B.C. are prepared and updated regularly by the province to ensure an effective strategy is in place to address many possible types of emergencies and disasters. These plans foster cooperation among multiple organizations. They focus on public safety, infrastructure and property protection and management of the aftermath of events.

British Columbia's comprehensive emergency management system promotes a coordinated and organized response to all emergency incidents and disasters. The structure provides the framework for a standardized emergency response in the province.

At the most fundamental level, it is up to the individual to know about the risks in their region and what to do in an emergency to protect themselves and their family. Everyone should be aware of the importance of Personal Emergency Preparedness.

Local governments lead the initial response to emergencies and disasters in their communities. They have emergency plans and maintain an emergency management organization to support the actions of first responders.

The provincial emergency management structure is activated when a B.C. community or any significant infrastructure is threatened by an emergency or disaster that may require additional or specialized resources.

Disaster Financial Assistance

British Columbia has a program to help those impacted by a disaster cope with the cost of repairs and recovery from disaster-related property damage.

The Disaster Financial Assistance Program (DFA) is administered through EMCR under the authority of the Compensation and Disaster Financial Assistance Regulation.

Those impacted by a disaster may apply to the province for Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) where the losses could not be insured or where other programs are not available. Disaster financial assistance helps to replace or restore essential items and property that have been destroyed or damaged to pre-disaster condition.

Assistance is available to qualifying home owners, residential tenants, small businesses, farm operators, and not-for-profit charitable organizations.

Public safety

About 13,000 people across the province volunteer their time and expertise in preparing for and responding to emergency situations. EMCR provides support for many volunteers and also provides the essential legal authority to recognized volunteer groups in responding to emergencies and disasters. Registered public safety lifeline volunteers are eligible for some benefits and basic response expenses. There is additional support available in the way of coordination and training.

Emergency volunteers come from every corner of the province and from all walks of life. Public safety lifeline volunteers respond to an average of 6,000 incidents a year, in all kinds of weather, any place, any time.

Emergency Support Services

Emergency Support Services (previously knows as Emergency Social Services) provides short-term assistance to British Columbians who are forced to leave their homes because of fire, floods, earthquakes or other emergencies. This assistance includes food, lodging, clothing, emotional support and family reunification.

Ground Search and Rescue

Annually, Search and Rescue volunteers in BC respond to over 1000 searches province-wide. Volunteer responders donate over 120,000 hours of their time on callouts and recent statistics show an astounding 95% of the subjects were found.

Search and rescue is further broken down into individual teams what operate in an area of the province where they are responsible for familiarity and access (e.g., North Shore Rescue). They may be tasked from a variety of agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, local police force, BC Ambulance, or the Coroner's service, and can be called to assist the Coast Guard, Department of National Defence, and Parks Canada. A number of search and rescue teams in BC are also trained and equipped for using the Helicopter Flight Rescue System to aid in rescuing people from dangerous or remote terrain.

In 2005 there were 93 individual SAR teams in the province, comprising approximately 4700 volunteers, and conducting an average of 900 operations per year, locating an average of 1200 people per year. [1]

EMBC-affiliated ground SAR teams in BC are represented by the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association, as well as by their individual teams.

Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue

In 2017, EMBC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR), which allows for provincial and local response agencies to access humanitarian assistance from RCMSAR in coastal and inland waterways. As a core function, RCMSAR responds to over 800 SAR missions annually from its 33 volunteer lifeboat stations. RCMSAR comprises over 1,100 volunteers and a small cadre of paid staff.

Provincial Emergency Program Air Search & Rescue

PEP Air's primary function is to assist Canadian Forces during search and rescue missions when additional resources are required. Currently, the organization includes over 100 aircraft crewed by more than 700 pilots, spotters and navigators.

BC Road Rescue Service

BC Road Rescue is an organized service with members who may be requested to provide support to people involved in out-of-jurisdiction motor vehicle accidents where specialized skills and equipment are required.

Emergency radio communications

During disasters and other serious emergency situations, when many other systems fail, a proven reliable means of communication has been emergency radio communications, notably Amateur Radio or "ham" radio. Emergency radio is a public safety lifeline that assists within the community and links the community in crisis to where relief and support can be coordinated.

Volunteers' powers, privileges and recognition

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community emergency response team</span>

In the United States, community emergency response team (CERT) can refer to

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Search and rescue</span> Search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger

Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.

Public Safety Canada, legally incorporated as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEPC), is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for (most) matters of public safety, emergency management, national security, and emergency preparedness in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency management</span> Dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies

Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actually focus on the management of emergencies, which can be understood as minor events with limited impacts and are managed through the day to day functions of a community. Instead, emergency management focuses on the management of disasters, which are events that produce more impacts than a community can handle on its own. The management of disasters tends to require some combination of activity from individuals and households, organizations, local, and/or higher levels of government. Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster response</span> Second phase of the disaster management cycle

Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle. It consists of a number of elements, for example; warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immediate restoration or construction of infrastructure. The aim of emergency response is to provide immediate assistance to maintain life, improve health and support the morale of the affected population. Such assistance may range from providing specific but limited aid, such as assisting refugees with transport, temporary shelter, and food to establishing semi-permanent settlements in camps and other locations. It also may involve initial repairs to damaged or diversion to infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary</span>

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary is a Canada-wide volunteer marine association dedicated to marine search and rescue (SAR) and the promotion of boating safety, through association with the Canadian Coast Guard under the auspices of Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Search and Rescue Program</span>

The National Search and Rescue Program (NSP) is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue (SAR) activities in Canada. Until 2015, the NSP was administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio emergency communications</span> Fallback service

In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster Preparedness and Response Team</span>

The Disaster Preparedness and Response Team is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) established in Pakistan in November 2005 following the Pakistan Quake. However it was not registered as a voluntary agency until 2006. It is composed of civilian volunteers who give some of their time to train and in major emergencies act as volunteer disaster workers.

Emergency Support Services (ESS) is a component of the Provincial Emergency Program of the Province of British Columbia. ESS are those services required to preserve the well-being of people affected by an emergency or disaster. Teams are established in local municipalities and assemble together for meetings and contingency planning.

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The National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS) was an independent portfolio organization within the Government of Canada's Department of National Defence, established in 1986 as one of the recommendations resulting from the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the Ocean Ranger disaster.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division (Canadian Armed Forces) and staffed by personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster Response Route</span>

Disaster Response Route (DRR) is a network of pre-identified municipal and provincial roads in the Province of British Columbia, Canada that can best move emergency services and supplies to where they are needed in the event of a major disaster. These roads are part of the Coordinated Regional Emergency Transportation Strategy and are intended for emergency responders when a disaster strikes and are not evacuation routes for the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helicopter Flight Rescue System</span>

The Helicopter Flight Rescue System (HFRS) is a helicopter insertion and extraction tool that utilizes a longline and Personnel Carrying Device System (PCDS) to carry human loads below a helicopter in flight. These systems are often referred to as "Long Line", "Short Haul", Class D Fixed Line (CDFL), and other terms, and is similar to other helicopter long line systems in use throughout the world. By extending a rescuer below the aircraft and allowing the aircraft to remain clear of obstacles while a rescue is performed, a pilot can insert/extract rescuers and subjects in most types of terrain.

The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services is a California cabinet-level office responsible for overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities within the state. The agency was created by AB 38 (2008), superseding both the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Office of Homeland Security (OHS).

Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) is a volunteer marine rescue service that saves lives and promotes public recreational boating safety throughout the coastal and some inland waters of the province of British Columbia and is associated with the national organization of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Many countries around the world have civil defense organizations dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks and providing rescue services after widespread disasters. In most countries, civil defense is a government-managed and often volunteer-staffed organization.

References

  1. "Ground SAR Backgrounder" (PDF). Provincial Emergency Program. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-03-15.