THUNDER BAY – Chief of Upsala’s Fire Department, Doug Kiezebrink said that while he hopes local leaders don’t have to make the call to send out Alert Ready notifications, he will if needed.
Last week, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response Jill Dunlop reminded local leaders that they have the ability to submit an emergency message to be delivered through the Alert Ready system.
The system allows messages regarding emergencies or threats to be broadcast through television, radio and mobile devices, similarly to how people receive warnings of possible tornados in their area.
While the government itself can send these out, Dunlop reminded local leaders, including fire chiefs, that they can as well.
Kiezebrink was in Thunder Bay picking up a water tank, hose and pump donated by Global Medic.
He said that he believes as time progresses, the MNR is “a bit more connected and monitoring (things), that the (Alert Ready notices) might come through them.”
He confirmed that he does have the information and access to request the notices be sent out in case of an emergency, but he’s “just hoping that nobody has to make that call.”
Last week, Kiezebrink recommended to his community that everyone evacuate due to a nearby fire, although no mandatory evacuation was ordered.
On Monday morning, he notified the community through social media that although he doesn’t necessarily recommend coming back he no longer suggests people stay away.
“We are still north of a sleeping dragon who is kind of put to bed a little bit with this weather and the rain that we had again this morning, so I feel comfortable saying that to people,” he told Newswatch.
“But still, the right winds, the right temperature could wake that dragon up and we would be back to fleeing town.”
Last week, Kiezebrink worked with a small team to set up sprinkler systems on the roofs of some neighbours. “There was no concerted MNR effort to put sprinklers or anything on various homes as value protection, so we basically just assisted homeowners with doing that with their own equipment,” he said.
“We’ve got our hand up in the air saying ‘MNR please notice us,’ we’d like to be next on the list for some help and we’re really hoping that will happen … So far, we seem to be low on the list,” Kiezebrink added.
However, he did say the Ontario Fire Marshall may be coming with more tools for value protection.
He also said that he has relied heavily on other local chiefs, including David Delzotto of Shebandowan Fire and First Response, who reminded him to pick up his Global Medic water tank.
Local fire chiefs and their teams are used to responding to housefires and car accidents, “but an emergency measures incident like this, its quite a bit out of my ballpark for experience, so I’ve been asking many questions and on a steep learning curve,” he said.
Local volunteer fire departments have played a major role in protecting their communities during the crisis.
Kiezebrink would like to remind his community that they can return home for a sense of normalcy, and while he’s hoping that its forever, there is still a possibility of evacuation.
