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Emergency management falls on the shoulders of city in new bylaw

Timothy Schafer
By Timothy Schafer
October 31st, 2018

The city will be taking care of its own when it comes to emergency management in the future.

A bylaw establishing the city’s own service to deal with managing emergencies was created by city council, instead of paying into the regional district’s service.

The mayor said the bylaw was a culmination of many months of work in crafting the emergency program framework.

“We made a commitment to improving our emergency management capabilities, and we put some processes in place,” said Mayor Deb Kozak.

The bylaw further establishes council’s commitment to an emergency management program including creating an emergency management organization, appointing a director of emergency management, delegation of authorities and establishing an emergency operations centre.

Emergency management was identified as a priority in strategic planning, with an emergency management assessment and a Community Wildfire Protection plan both recommending an emergency management program be established to meet the specific needs of Nelson.

In addition, wildfire expert Bruce Blackwell recently stated that for communities with a population of 10,000 or more, “Nelson is one of the most at risk cities in BC to experience a wildfire,” noted a city staff report to council.

The city developed an all hazards emergency management program that complied with the requirements set out in Emergency Program Act that focused on preparing for, responding to and recovering from an emergency or disaster.

The emergency management program will be built on the four pillars of emergency management: preparedness; mitigation; response; and recovery. “The program will take a “whole community” approach that recognizes it takes local government, the business community, non-governmental agencies and residents to work together to build a truly resilient community,” said fire chief Len MacCharles in his report to council.

Budget requirements for the program include costs associated with developing and delivering an emergency management program, including the costs for a director of emergency management (role combined with the fire chief position), establishing and operating an emergency operations centre, corporate training, community outreach and program material.

For 2018 and 2019, the city has been awarded grant funding from Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Columbia Basin Trust totaling $172,000 with the potential to apply for further assistance in 2019 to help pay for the service, said city manager Kevin Cormack in his report to council.

And the onus is on …

Part 7 – Liability

No person, including, without limitation, council, the mayor, members of the Nelson Emergency Management Organization, city employees, a volunteer and any other persons appointed, authorized or requested to carry out measures relating to emergencies or disasters, is liable for any loss, cost, expense, damages or injury to persons or property that result from:

(a) the person in good faith doing or omitting to do any act that the person is appointed, authorized or required to do under the Act or this bylaw, unless, in doing or omitting to do the act, the person was grossly negligent; or

(b) any acts done or omitted to be done by one or more of the persons who were, under the Act or this bylaw, appointed, authorized or required by the persons to do the acts, unless in appointing, authorizing or requiring those persons to do the acts, the person was not acting in good faith.

— Source: City of Nelson Emergency Management Bylaw

In case of emergency, just call Len

The city named its fire chief as the head of the emergency management program.

The Emergency Management Program Bylaw required a director of emergency management, and Cormack recommended that Fire Chief Len MacCharles be appointed as director “as he has the experience and training to fulfill this role.” Council unanimously passed the motion to approve MacCharles for the position.

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