Belleville residents well prepared for emergencies, say organizations

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Officer Tex Ridder inside Quinte Wellness Centre attending the Emergency Management Open House on May 9. Photo by Leila Nasr, QNetNews.

By Leila Nasr

BELLEVILLE ­– Belleville residents are prepared to deal with emergency situations, according to experts at the Emergency Management Open House at the Quinte Wellness Centre on May 9.

“I’d say Belleville’s done a great job in terms of any emergencies they’ve been faced with. The fire chief was just telling us this morning about a fire at a hospital yesterday, which they had to evacuate the whole fifth floor, and it went like clockwork,” says Gord Hunter, branch manager from St. John Ambulance.

The open house is an event where emergency services from the area gather at Quinte Wellness Centre to educate the public about services available and how to prepare for an emergency situation.

Although not an ambulance service, St. John Ambulance offers first aid and CPR training to the public as a way of educating people to deal with situations immediately, where the service isn’t able to get there as quickly. They also have three-day emergency kits available for the public, says Hunter.

St. John Ambulance booth showcases essential items for an emergency kit.

Emergencies aren’t just natural disasters or huge fires, they are also personal situations such as abduction, assault, suicide and murder, says Linda Sims, the volunteer coordinator for victim services.

Victim Services in the Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox and Addington Counties assist with those.

Although there are many emergency organizations in the area that assist people, having the knowledge about how to prepare is the most important.

“The public should always educate themselves on what they can do to be self-sufficient in case of an emergency. They can’t depend on people coming in to rescue them. You’ve got to be able to depend on yourself,” says Sims.

Deputy Officer Mike Callaghan (left) and Ron Gignac outside of Quinte Wellness Centre with their new equipment. They’re engaging with the public about emergency preparedness from the perspective of the Belleville Police Service.

The number one day-to-day emergencies and complaints are traffic-related. Belleville Chief of Police Ron Gignac offers some good information about being careful when both driving and walking.

“What about somebody who is injured in a collision that now has a traumatic brain injury for something that was preventable in the first place because of bad driving behaviours, because of impaired driving, because of distracted driving,” says Gignac. “You have a child now that has to grow up for the next 66 years with a brain injury. What chance in life does that person have?”

An increasing issue is cell phone use while driving, walking or even doing things in the house, says Gignac. These are all avoidable instances and could potentially lower the overall occurrences each year. The chief said officers responded to a total of 66,000 calls in 2016.

A successful way to prepare for any emergency is to make a three-step plan, said Julianna McAleese, who is the regional emergency program officer for the Ministry of Community and Social Services. The first one is to make a plan, then to build a kit and, finally, stay informed.

Julianne McAleese presenting the plastic cover for emergency documents (copies of wills, home ownership) that stay a vehicle in case of an emergency, such as a house fire.

“Your emergency kit is to allow you to be self-sustaining for up to 72 hours. Things like water, toilet paper, toothbrushes, wind-up radios, wind-up flashlights. Things that are going to support you with no power or water,” says McAleese. “It’s just building a personal resiliency in the community to manage emergencies. Our feeling is that the more resilient individuals are in their community, the more prepared they are to support others in the community that are vulnerable.”

Many of these services are working in unison to create a safer community for the public.