Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Let’s say-strictly hypothetically speaking-a train carrying hazardous materials derailed somewhere between Belleville and Greater Napanee.
What would the town, emergency services and the Canadian military do to keep residents safe?
That question and many more were discussed at Greater Napanee Emergency Service’s Napanee fire hall on Wednesday as part of a training exercise held in partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces. Students from CFB Kingston’s Civil Military Co-Operation Operator course were on hand to run through what the town, the local fire department and Lennox and Addington OPP would be responsible for in the event of that particular emergency.
“It’s a course that teaches you to be a liaison between the military and civil actors,” Cpt. Emily Rankin, one of eight CFB Kingston students on hand for the training exercise, explained. “We have to do this both domestically, so if you think about COVID and working in long-term care homes, it teaches us how to interact and be able to talk properly with civil authorities so we can provide support. Also expeditionary operations, so when we go overseas to be able to de-conflict activities between the military and civilians in the area where we’re operating to make sure that we’re accomplishing what we need to without being detrimental to either side.”
GNES fire chief John Koenig sits next to members of the Canadian military as they discuss strategies for dealing with a potential train derailment. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Though a train derailment isn’t overly likely to happen, it’s still better to be prepared ahead of time. Wednesday’s meeting was a chance to go over best practices and to compare notes. Mayor Marg Isbester and Greater Napanee CAO John Pinsent were on hand to speak on behalf of the town and the County of Lennox and Addington, giving a broad overview of what kind of emergency shelters could be established and what the capacity is of Lennox and Addington County General Hospital. If there’s any good to come out of COVID-19, it’s that the town has a much better understanding of which community groups can step up and what they can do in an emergency. GNES fire chief John Koenig and public educator Randy Cook also attended the meeting, as did officer John Vis of the L&A County OPP.
That set up isn’t unlike what would happen in a real emergency as representatives from each would establish a situation room of sorts, whether it be at the Napanee fire hall, or if that were part of the effected disaster area, Roblin’s fire hall.
“Having everyone in the same room is a huge advantage because we have our subject matter experts like fire to determine the next course of action,” said Vis. “We’d start looking at setting up a triage area, well away from where the blast location is, as well as a hazmat staging location area where a certain unit would be deployed to.”
Members of the military also discussed how to best communicate not only with each other, but also with residents to ensure they’re getting factual information. In a life and death situation, getting accurate information-not rumours-can be critical.
Students spent the day in Napanee, touring some of the town’s facilities and making any notes they feel could be helpful.
Ideally the practices discussed will never have to be put into action. But it never hurts to be prepared either.