Emergency Management Oceanside (EMO) was recently awarded a grant of $59,956.14 from the Emergency Operations Centres Equipment and Training stream of the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.
The grant is funded by the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, managed by the Union of BC Municipalities. EMO is a partnership between the City of Parksville and Town of Qualicum Beach, according to a news release by EMO.
The regional application submitted by EMO will increase the response capacity of the emergency program by adding resilience to important factors such as staff training, situational awareness, emergency communications, and multi-government integration in a joint emergency operations centre response, continuing the ongoing collaboration between Parksville and Qualicum Beach. Grant activities will be completed by April 30, 2025.
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Managed by the city, the grant will fund the following:
• Development and delivery of three half day exercises specific to an emergency operations centre activation fora wildfire response in the Parksville Qualicum Beach region.
• Facilitation of a two-day Incident Command System 200 course for staff Parksville and Qualicum Beach. The course will train staff to be able to hold a supervisory role within the incident command system which is used in an emergency operations centre activation.
• Purchase of equipment required to establish an amateur radio emergency data network node in the Parksville emergency radio communications room.
• Purchase of a mobile digital whiteboard which will provide an interactive situational display in the designated regional emergency operations centre at the Qualicum Beach fire hall.
• Purchase of colour coded emergency operations centre vests to ensure sufficient vests during a joint emergency operations centre activation.
Regional emergency management partners will participate in the emergency operations centre exercises which will enhance EMO’s ability to achieve the new requirements outlined in the Emergency and Disaster Management Act.
— NEWS Staff