Region of Waterloo and Township of Woolwich prepare for an emergency

The Region of Waterloo and the Township of Woolwich are joining with community partners to prepare for an emergency at the Woolwich Memorial Centre in Elmira on Sept. 8, 2011.

The emergency management exercise allows participants to understand and discuss their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency. A team of responders made up of community partners from Region of Waterloo Social Services, Public Heath and Grand River Transit, Township of Woolwich Facilities, the Waterloo Region Emergency Support Team, the Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army, St. John Ambulance, Kitchener-Waterloo Amateur Radio Club and more will participate in the exercise, which will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude with a group debrief at 11:30 a.m.

Woolwich Memorial Centre will be set up as a reception centre, which would be used to take in and assist individuals displaced by an emergency. The mock reception centre will be set up, receive and register displaced individuals and care for their personal needs, including medical care, emotional support, clothing, food and lodging.

Site Command will also be set up in the parking lot at the Woolwich Memorial Centre, where first responder agencies (Fire, Police and EMS) will convene to test communications and the unified command structure.

The emergency management exercise is part of Emergency Management Ontario’s requirements for municipal emergency management departments.

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For more information, please contact:

David Dirks
Director, Employment and Income Support
Region of Waterloo
519-883-2179
ddirks@regionofwaterloo.ca

Rick Pedersen
Township Fire Chief
Township of Woolwich
519-664-2887
rpedersen@woolwich.ca