An Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a centralized command and control room where public safety, emergency response, and support agencies can plan, prepare and respond to a wide variety of events.

A fully capable emergency operations facility is an essential element of a comprehensive emergency management system and necessary to ensure continuity of operations. Council Chambers in the village of Westport has been equipped and designated as our EOC and is used for managing emergency events. 

Village staff have been trained through the Ministry of Solicitor General for key positions.  They have a good understanding of the Critical Incident Management protocols and support their use to realize the following advantages in an emergency:

A. Centralizes Incident Management

• Provides central point where all information related to the incident is received and analyzed, incident priorities are determined, strategies are developed and critical resources are assigned to tactical operations.
• Provides for operations during extended periods of time.
• Enhances coordination between involved agencies and provides for the efficient and effective use of all modes of communications available for the incident
• Minimizes disruption to campus departments not directly affected.
• Provides a centralized location to conduct planning meetings, tactics meetings, shift briefings, media briefings, press conferences, public information releases and other information dissemination.

B. Provides for Situation Status Management

• Establishes a central location for information to be gathered, analyzed, tracked, displayed, distributed and stored.
• Provides for the verification of information.
• Provides for immediate availability of incident information.

C. Provides for Resource Status Management

• Establishes a single location for resources to be tracked (e.g., personnel, equipment,), their location and status.

As we move into winter and the ever present concerns of severe weather, we have taken stock of our strengths and capacity and are looking to the public to add to our bench strength.  The Village needs volunteers to assist with three areas during an emergency or similar event and we will be holding a training day on Monday, October 28. 

The following roles require assistance from the public through trained volunteers:

A. Canvassing.  Whether it is a boil water advisory, severe weather event or evacuation, we need volunteers who can knock on every residential and business door in the community to communicate the situation and document their actions.

B. Reception Centre.  In the case of evacuation, a reception centre(s) needs to be established as a safe meeting point for residents and business owners.  Social Services from UCLG will assume this responsibility once they arrive in the village, but we will need to get things set up.

C. Scribe for the Community Emergency Management Coordinator (CEMC), who has overall authority for the event/emergency, needs a note-taker during an incident.

An advertisement from Town Hall with more information on how to apply will soon be posted the Village and my web site as well as in the paper.  The training on October 28 will cover these three areas in the morning and in the afternoon we will hold a mock emergency exercise so volunteers can see how things work in an emergency. 

Please think about volunteering for these roles.  If you are not sure, join the training and see if it is the right fit for you.

Call anytime – 273-9195