Thursday, October 30. 2008

I hope we never have to use it...

I read that sentiment all the time when a municipality sets up any kind of emergency "war room." Take the one for Niagra Falls, Ontario.

Formerly located at city hall, the Niagara Falls EOC is now housed in the former bunk room at the Morrison Street fire station.

In a matter of minutes, the empty room can be transformed into a state-of- the-art command centre complete with laptops, telephones, several large video display screens and an interactive touch board.

In the event of a major disaster, the secured site will be the headquarters for police, fire, paramedics and public works.

"We hope to not ever have to use it, however, the likelihood we will have to use the centre in the future is there," said fire Chief Lee Smith.

If a large-scale emergency occurs, the centre will support response activities in the field and provide direction to the various agencies such as the Red Cross and the public health department.

The centre is already stocked with modern technology devices from Design Electronics. The huge screens can broadcast live feeds and are equipped for video conferencing.

The sentiment is fine, but my sense is that those who would be using such technologies in an emergency should be using them all the time! During an emergency is no time to learn how new hardware and software work.

An analogy: in prepping for long distance running newbies are told not to try anything "race day" they've not tried in training. That includes everything from not wearing new clothing to not drinking a different kind of sports drink. Why does it seem like "special" tools and software are used in emergencies that are not in use all the time?

- Niagra Falls Review