Redwood Meadows Emergency Services will be participating in an exercise with Rocky View County on April 21 in Bragg Creek.

On April 21, Rocky View County, Tsuut'ina Nation, and the Canadian Red Cross will conduct an Emergency Management Exercise in the Hamlet of Bragg Creek, located 30 minutes west of Calgary. The exercise will start at 8 a.m. and run to 2 p.m. 

The exercise will replicate a wildfire response from emergency personnel, who will implement the evacuation plan for the greater Bragg Creek area. This exercise gives Rocky View County, Tsuut'ina Nation, the Canadian Red Cross, and other partners the opportunity to practise a joint response and determine challenges and opportunities which may exist within emergency management and evacuation plans. 

“A natural disaster can strike at any time. Planned training exercises are essential to ensure we are ready and coordinated to offer residents the assistance they need during a real emergency. Thank you to the staff and volunteers from all participating groups for your work to ensure emergency preparedness throughout the County.” — Rocky View County Mayor Don Kochan

Residents of Bragg Creek should be aware of an increased emergency response presence in the area and prepare for possible disruptions and delays on April 21. While this is not a real emergency, it is an opportunity to prepare for one by:

• signing up for emergency alerts through the County’s Safe and Sound System
• building and maintaining emergency kits
• creating an emergency plan and practising the plan with your family
• reviewing insurance policies to ensure sufficient coverage is available to protect your family and property

Quick facts

• Emergency management is designed to protect life, property, and the environment through a unified and coordinated response to emergencies.
• Other partner organizations participating in the exercise include: The Salvation Army, St. John Ambulance, Team Rubicon Canada, and Animal Emergency Task Force.

Emergency Exercise Locations

• Emergency Command Centre (ECC): Located at Rocky View County Hall, this centre serves as the centralized location of emergency response and recovery support, helping to coordinate on-the-ground operations. The ECC will collect, gather, and analyze data, make decisions that protect life and property, and circulate decisions to all concerned agencies and individuals. The ECC will be run by the Rocky View County Emergency Management Program. 
• Incident Command Post (ICP): Located in the parking lot of the Bragg Creek Community Centre, the Incident Command Post is the primary location for on-scene incident command and management. Fire Crews from Rocky View County, Redwood Meadows, Tsuut'ina Nation, Crossfield, Cochrane, Mountain View County, and Wheatland County will be joined at the ICP with emergency management personnel, the RCMP, Canada Task Force 2, The Salvation Army, and Team Rubicon Canada. 
• Evacuation Centre: Located at the Springbank Park for All Seasons, the mock evacuation centre provides a location away from the emergency for evacuees to gather and receive supports. This centre will be supported during the event by members of the Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, and the Animal Emergency Task Force. 

Timeline of Events

• 8:00 - Command Post Setup at the Bragg Creek Community Centre 
• 9:30 - Evacuation Centre Opens at the Springbank Park for All Seasons
• 13:00 - Bragg Creek and Springbank exercise concludes 
• 14:00 - Exercise debrief at Rocky View County Hall

Source: https://www.rockyview.ca/news/article/2076/emergency-management-exercise-planned-in-bragg-creek

Here are some important tips that can save you and your loved ones in case of fire.

1. Check your smoke and CO alarms: Working smoke detectors and CO alarms save lives. Replace the batteries yearly and have the electrical wiring checked. Smoke detectors and CO alarms expire after 10 years. Depending on model and conditions, some CO detectors may expire in as little as 5 years. Be sure to keep track of how old your alarm is and change it when needed.

2. Schedule a check-up for electrical wiring:  Faulty electrical wiring can cause fire incidents. If you notice flickering light bulbs and sparking switches, have the lines checked by an expert as it might be time for replacement or repair. Keep foot traffic away from electrical cords to avoid wiring damage and limit the use of extension cords as they may overheat the sockets. Big appliances such as refrigerators should have their own outlet.

3. Keep flammable items away from children: Candles, matches, lighters, butane, gasoline and items alike should be stored away from children.

4. Be alert in the kitchen: Stay mindful when cooking and don’t leave ovens, broilers, and stoves unattended. Keep towels or anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop. Always make sure the lid is available to cover the pan in case the pan catches fire.

5. Avoid smoking indoors: If you have a smoking room, place several deep and stable ashtrays on a sturdy surface. When emptying the ashtrays or throwing away cigarette butts and ashes, make sure that they have cooled and there are no remaining embers.

6. Keep emergency numbers visible and easily on hand:  In addition to saving important emergency numbers on your phone, write them down and place them in a visible location in your home.  Be sure to include your address and home phone number for visiting guests.

7. Create and practice a fire escape plan at home:  A well-rehearsed emergency exit plan greatly alleviates panic during an emergency. It takes two minutes for your house to be filled with toxic fumes from a fire: “Get low and go” when making an exit. Practice feeling the door and walls using the back of your hand for a hint from the next room. Designate a person to get elderly and young children out safely. Pick a meeting place to assemble afterward.

8. Make sure that your address number is visible from the road, especially at night, so we can find you in an emergency.

Today and every day, we celebrate and thank the strong, passionate women serving Redwood Meadows Emergency Services and all female first responders across Canada for their service.

Good morning everyone!

We wanted to give everyone on here a quick update on smoke north of Wintergreen.

The smoke you will undoubtedly see at some point this week, is a permitted burn on the Tsuut'ina Nation by a professional land clearing company. The size of the slash piles are quite large but they do have the necessary equipment on scene. The burning should be completed by the end of the week, if the winds cooperate.

Thanks everyone and have a great week!

Happy New Year to all! Here's our year-end details about how 2021 unfolded for RMES.

Your 29 volunteers ran 370 calls for service in 2021 - 165 medical calls, 109 rescues, 72 fires, 5 hazardous materials incidents, and 19 miscellaneous type calls. This amounted to a little more than one call per day.

We responded to calls in the Redwood Meadows and Bragg Creek area, as is our responsibility, but also provided support to other areas and partner agencies including other parts of Rocky View County, Kananaskis Country, the Tsuut'ina First Nation, the Municipal District of Bighorn, Foothills County, the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, and the town of Cochrane. We take pride in the fact that we are counted upon by partners everywhere to help them out when the need arises.

Our busiest truck remains the Rescue, as it goes on all rescues, almost all medical co-responses, and many fires and hazmat incidents. Closely behind it was the Rapid Response, which handles a lot of the same calls, can respond off-road, and also pulls our support trailer which carries the UTV side-by-side off-road vehicle for backcountry rescue and wildfire response.

Using the categories listed above, our most common medical co-response was for falls, with traumatic injuries coming a close second. This represents the popularity of the local area's recreation zones and the huge number of people who partake in such activities all year long. Please always make sure you are prepared for an emergency while out recreating - know where you are and how to communicate that to emergency services. If you are in an area where there is no cell service, make it a priority to know how to summon help, either by sending someone to an area where cell coverage exists, or investing in an emergency beacon device which can call for help without cell signals.

Our busiest Fire call type was for alarms - which covers automatic fire alarms, local fire or smoke alarm activation, and other alarm conditions such as carbon monoxide alarms, gas alarms, and etc. Be aware of your alarm system and its capabilities and what you need to do when it goes off. And while actual fires have been less of a concern in the past few years, don't let your guard down. Practice good fire safety, FireSmart procedures, and know what to do when fire strikes - you may need to take immediate action before we even arrive, and what you do may make the difference between a small problem and something much worse.

Our busiest rescue call type is, unsurprisingly, motor vehicle collisions, owing to the many roads throughout our district and the high amount of vehicles traveling them. Driving and using our road networks is something everyone needs to be more focused at. Be aware of other road users, including not only other traffic but pedestrians and wildlife, and drive to conditions, as well as keeping the goal of getting to your destination safely as your number one priority. And, if you encounter us or any other emergency service or first responder agency out working on the road, please don't forget to slow down and move over - give us room to work.

In terms of hazardous materials calls, concerns about natural gas leaks and odors was our busiest response type. It's never a bad idea to call for help if something doesn't seem right, or if you see or smell something that gives you cause for concern. We'll definitely come out and check things out, and bring the experts with us to ensure that everything is safe.

Finally, our 'other' or miscellaneous category covers all the other situations that don't fit into the above categories. This year, what we call 'service calls' or citizen assists were the predominant leader in this category. This covers everything from trees and/or power wires down, to stand-by for the filming of a TV show or movie, to helping deal with a host of other non-emergency situations.

Your volunteers contributed 17,744 hours of service to your community over the past year. For many of us, this involves either spending regular duty shifts (8am to 8pm, weekends and holidays) at the station, ready to respond to calls, or breaking away from family life and personal activities to respond at a moment's notice. Thank you to our families and friends for understanding our commitment to the emergency services and thank you for supporting us as well!

Here's to hoping that 2022 continues to trend towards a return to 'normal life' compared to the past two years. All the best to everyone, and stay safe!