Award for emergency planning
The CACP/Motorola Award for Excellence in Emergency Preparedness recognizes the “development and implementation of unique strategies and/or programs within the last five years, in emergency preparedness to keep citizens safe in both natural and man- made emergencies.”
In May 2013 after nine months of planning, Memorial St. John’s Campus hosted a full-scale exercise in collaboration with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC), Eastern Health, St. John's Regional Fire Department, Canadian Red Cross and The Salvation Army. The full day event, referred to as Exercise Campus Collaboration 2013 (ECC 2013), involved an active shooter on campus with casualties and simulated responses from police, fire and paramedics. It was a test of Memorial's Emergency Management Plan.
Karen Alexander, acting manager of Enterprise Risk Management, said the scale of ECC 2013 and the logistics were certainly factors in winning the award, but it was more about how it was done. “It was a lot to do with the design and the approach to planning we took including preparing controller and evaluator handbooks, completing an after action report and a post incident summary. Even the decision to place a camera in the active intruder’s ball cap to capture a firsthand account of the exercise was part of the unique design.”
“Co-chairing the event with the RNC, identifying all of the objectives upfront, identifying the importance of having a logistics coordinator on the planning team, and conducting training prior to the event all led to the unique design of this exercise and ultimately winning this award,” Ms. Alexander added. “Also essential is the fact that all of the document templates are available for other organizations to use. It was the first large scale for MUN and the largest for RNC and the first time using any of those particular exercises and planning tools.”
The exercise involved around 400 people, six buildings, several parking lots and the tunnels as well as five external organizations and several internal departments. Organizers had to make sure all the participants understood their roles and that someone didn’t accidentally enter the exercise areas.
“Emergency management plans are created but in order to ensure their effectiveness during real emergencies, they need to be tested,” Emergency Management Analyst Holly Tobin added. “It allows them to test their emergency plans in a safe environment, identifying gaps and areas for improvement and making those changes so a real response will run smoother.”
To see a video of the full-scale exercise, visit: www.mun.ca/emergency/events/ECC2013/.
Enterprise Risk Management is part of Memorial’s Office of the Chief Risk Officer which also oversees Campus Enforcement and Patrol and Environmental Health and Safety (formerly the Department of Health and Safety), Enterprise Risk Management and Emergency Management.