What is an emergency?
“A situation or an impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property and that is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other health risk, an accident or an act whether intentional or otherwise.”
Source: Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (external link)
What is emergency management?
Most emergency incidents can be handled by first responders (police, fire, paramedics) but when an incident exceeds the capacity of responding agencies, emergency managers are required to help coordinate a multi-agency response. Emergency Management takes action to prepare Halton Region and its residents to build resiliency and be better able to respond to emergencies.
5 pillars of emergency management
There are five pillars of emergency management:
1. Prevention
The actions taken to eliminate a hazard from occurring.
2. Mitigation
The actions taken to reduce the impacts of a hazard.
3. Preparedness
The measures taken prior to an emergency or disaster to ensure individuals and agencies are ready for an effective response.
4. Response
The activities during or immediately after an incident to protect people, property, the environment and the economy and/or services.
5. Recovery
The actions taken that restore a community as close to a pre-disaster state of functioning.
In order to initiate preventative, mitigative and preparedness activities, the Province of Ontario requires all municipalities and regions to complete a Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) that ranks the top ten hazards addressing the following:
- What hazards exist in the region?
- How frequently do they occur?
- How severe can their impact be on the community, infrastructure, property, and the environment?
- Which hazards pose the greatest threat to the community?
Legislation and regulation
Halton Region’s emergency management program is guided by three pieces of legislation:
What is a declaration of emergency?
A signed declaration made in writing by the Head of Council of a Municipality in accordance with the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. This declaration is usually based on a situation or an impending situation that threatens public safety, public health, the environment, critical infrastructure, property, and/or economic stability and exceeds the scope of routine community emergency response.
Source: Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (external link)
Halton Region’s role
The Halton Region Emergency Program and Plan details the roles and responsibilities of Regional Council and regional employees when responding to an emergency. The Halton Region Emergency Program and Plan is designed to facilitate a timely and effective response to and recovery from those hazards to which the Regional Municipality of Halton is particularly vulnerable. The Halton Region Emergency Program and Plan is reviewed annually to reflect the changes in the community and is practiced annually through training, drills and exercises to ensure employees know how to use the plan.
Source: Halton Region Emergency Program and Plan (PDF file)
Regional Emergency Operations Centre
A designated facility where the Region’s Emergency Control Group assemble to manage the response to an emergency or disaster.
Emergency Control Group
A group composed of Regional senior management, employees, first responders and others that may be involved in directing the Region’s response to an emergency including the implementation of emergency response plans and procedures.