The City encourages residents to be prepared in the event of an emergency
HAMILTON, ON – Each year cities across the country recognize Emergency Preparedness (EP) Week, an annual national awareness initiative that has taken place since 1996. At the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Fire Department is responsible for the management of the City’s emergency operations centre and plan in the event of a citywide emergency. This year’s theme reinforces the importance of individual and family preparedness and encourages Canadians to subscribe to receive provincial emergency alerts by email, SMS text or twitter. To help residents be prepared for a range of emergencies, the Hamilton Fire Department is marking EP Week from May 7 to 12 by launching their “Five Days to Emergency Preparedness” awareness campaign.
In 2014, information on the risk awareness and level of emergency preparedness of people living in Hamilton was collected through Statistics Canada. Survey results indicated that nearly one-half (47%) of Hamilton residents has faced a major emergency or disaster in Canada or in a community they were living in at the time of the event. And the majority (72%) reported experiencing severe disruptions to their daily activities as a result of the event. One in ten (1/10) people in Hamilton live in a household with no precautionary measures in place in the event of an emergency.
On May 7, 2018 at 1:55 pm Ontario will test wireless public alerts on compatible LTE mobile devices using the Alert Ready system. For more information on this test, please visit the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services website. Residents can check their phone’s compatibility by visiting https://www.alertready.ca/wireless/#carriers
During EP Week, daily tips will be shared to help residents be more prepared in an emergency:
Tip 1: Make a Plan
Tip 2: Get Emergency Supplies
Tip 3: Prepare for Unique Needs
Tip 4: Be Informed, Sign up for Alerts
Tip 5: Create an emergency supply kit for your pet and car
More information on how to be prepared is available at www.hamilton.ca/5days-emergency-preparedness and www.ontario.ca/beprepared.
Quick Facts
- The City of Hamilton has 1 of only 5 stand-alone municipal Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) in Ontario.
- The City of Hamilton has a municipal Emergency Plan that is updated annually and outlines how the City and its emergency response agencies will coordinate themselves to respond to, and help the city recover from a large scale emergency.
- Since 2005, Hamilton’s municipal EOC and Emergency Plan has been activated for 11 emergencies.
- The City of Hamilton uses the Incident Management System as the municipal emergency response model which is an internationally recognized system for responding to emergencies.
- The City of Hamilton has a community risk profile that identifies and assesses hazards in the community. The top five identified risks for Hamilton are, in order of greatest to least:
- Hazardous Materials Incident/Spills – Fixed Site Incident
- Flooding
- Hazardous Materials Incident/Spills –Transportation Incident
- Human Health Emergency
- Energy Emergency (Supply)
Additional Resources
- City of Hamilton Emergency Plan
- How to get more information during an emergency
- Video: How to prepare for emergencies
“As we have seen, emergencies can strike at any time. During Emergency Preparedness Week, I am asking all our residents to help us by reviewing the tips being provided during the “Five Days to Emergency Preparedness” to ensure that they are prepared in time of an emergency. ” - David Cunliffe, Fire Chief
“We ask all residents to take a few minutes of their day to get prepared for emergencies. Being prepared will assist you, your household members and your pets during an emergency. Take some time each day during Emergency Preparedness Week to get prepared.” - Connie Verhaeghe, Emergency Management Coordinator