emergency preparedness

Join Halton Region’s survey panel (Halton MVP) and complete the Emergency Preparedness survey for a chance to win an Emergency Go Kit

Release Date: Dec 13, 2012

Halton Region wants to know what you think about Halton’s ability to respond to emergency situations. The Region’s latest Halton MVP (my ViewPoint) survey will run during the next several weeks. All new panelists who register to join Halton MVP by December 17, as well as all existing Halton MVP members who complete Halton’s survey about emergency preparedness will be entered into a draw to win an Emergency Go Kit^*. Winners will be required to answer a skill-testing question to be eligible to receive the prize.

“Working with partners to ensure Halton Region is a disaster-resilient community, ready to deal with any potential, imminent or actual emergency is one of our Citizens’ Priorities,” said Regional Chair Gary Carr. “This MVP survey will provide a unique way for us to gauge whether our preparedness messages are reaching residents and allow residents to share their thoughts on Emergency Preparedness in Halton.”

The Halton MVP survey program offers an opportunity for citizens to electronically provide their feedback to Halton Regional Council and staff on a variety of Regional issues and initiatives including emergency preparedness, service optimization, waste management and more. Join the panel or find out more at www.halton.ca/MVP. Residents who join Halton MVP may be invited by email to participate in up to eight surveys each year. Registration is open to all residents of Halton Region (excluding employees of Halton Region) 18 years of age or older. Each panelist requires a unique email address.

To receive an email invitation to complete this survey, residents must join the panel at www.halton.ca/MVP by December 17 or must already be a member. The invitation to complete the Emergency Preparedness survey will be emailed to all members of Halton MVP later in December.

The Regional Municipality of Halton serves more than 500,000 residents in the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Halton Region is committed to meeting the needs of its residents through the delivery of cost-effective, quality programs and services, including water and wastewater; Regional roads and planning; emergency medical services; waste management; public health; Employment Halton; Ontario Works (formerly social assistance); children’s and seniors’ services; social/non-profit housing; heritage programs; emergency management and economic development. For more information, dial 311 or visit Halton Region’s website at www.halton.ca.

^* Jane Armstrong Research Associates is the sponsor and administrator of the draw for the Emergency Go Kits. For official contest rules visit www.halton.ca/MVP. Halton MVP and the Emergency Go Kit draw are managed by Armstrong Research on behalf of Halton Region through a secure website. All correspondence, data collection and data analysis are the responsibility of Armstrong Research. Individual views remain anonymous as data is always analyzed – and presented to Halton Region – in the aggregate.

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Media Contacts:

Carleen Carroll
Director, Strategic Communications
Halton Region
905-825-6080
Carleen.Carroll@halton.ca

Jodie Sales
Senior Communications Specialist
Halton Region
905-825-6000 x 7363
Jodie.Sales@halton.ca

Region of Halton Is Prepared. Are YOU?

May 8, 2012May 8, 2012Mike Cluett

The following is a video from Halton Region Chair Gary Carr with some information on how to be prepared in case of an emergency. Its a great video that includes video highlites of our recent session at the Region where we did a mock emergency test with your elected officials in charge. THANKFULLY we’re not.

Are We Prepared?

April 18, 2012April 18, 2012Mike Cluett

Today I had the opportunity to take part in an exercise at the Region of Halton. A number of elected officials were invited to take part in an emergency management overview and test our skills on how to handle a real emergency.

Of course the emergency wasn’t real, but our reactions and skills were put to the test during a staged emergency event.

This was all in real time starting from the announcement of the event and laid out what the different departments would do, how it would handle the situations, demands, and communications to the public. Needless to say we were overwhelmed and thank heavens it wasn’t real as there might have been zombies running around in Oakville and Burlington (Councillor Jeff Knoll would get that the most 🙂 )

From the beginning, our communication skills were put to the test. Having to contact and communicate with so many departments, detailing information we’ve received and passing it along. Of course things were missed by the elected folk, but in a real emergency, that couldn’t happen. In a real emergency, if details are missed as to possible injuries or fatalities could result in chaos and even worse more lives could be lost.

In the end we were all given a passing grade (and really would they fail US?) but many of us now understand the massive undertaking involved in getting so many departments of the region, local officials, emergency services and communications to the public up and running. I have a new appreciation for the roles these individuals play and I am very thankful we have some very competent people handling things in the emergency management team. Things have to be done with lightening speed with little or no room for error and I can honestly say that I feel much safer knowing how prepared this team is for any emergency it might face.

Thank you to the organizers of todays event as it was eye opening and humbling to say the least.

If you would like to know more about the Region of Halton’s Emergency Preparedness Campaign you can go to www.halton.ca/beprepared for info. Its a good place for tips on how to prepare you and your family in case of an emergency. There are some valuable tools and kits you can order to make sure you and your family can survive any emergency.

If youre on Twitter you can follow them www.twitter.com/bpreparedhalton for updates on information, events and tips on emergency preparedness.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.