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Enhanced emergency capacity application backed by city
By Erin Knutson
City of Fernie council recently voted unanimously to authorize the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to apply jointly on behalf of the city for a grant stream to the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) under the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) to help modernize and update emergency operations.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Scott Robinson, funding would fortify emergency response on behalf of the city in part by creating backup through a Starlink satellite should land-based communications be disrupted during a crisis event.
“The grant stream would help the CEPF for Emergency Operations Centre and Training to support the “EOC Upgrade and Modernization” project to build emergency operations capacity,” he said.
By backing the initiative, the city would be part of a network across East Kootenay to respond more efficiently and substantially to a crisis.
“The grant will be used to purchase and update technology enabling local staff involved operationally with an emergency to be connected virtually to the Regional EOC in Cranbrook, alleviating the need to send a staff member to the Regional EOC,” said Robinson.
According to the fire chief, the RDEK will request $180,000 based on grant limits for First Nations and local government partners, including five East Kootenay partners.
“The grant will also fund in-person Emergency Management training in locations across the region,” he said.
Mayor Nic Milligan and council members supported the initiative and the capacity for backup with Starlink as long as it would not harm the taxpayers if utilized.
According to Robinson’s report, if land-based communications fail, the city will have a task number assigned for activating Starlink at no extra cost to the citizens of Fernie.
The RDEK will manage the project if the UBCM approves the grant.
“Should the application be successful, the RDEK will be authorized to receive and manage the funds and provide overall grant management for the project,” said Robinson.
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