By Deborah Greaves May 2006
We talk to Beryl Itani - Emergency Social Services Director
Beryl Itani - Emergency Social Services Director
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Inspired decades ago by a week-long seminar on disaster preparedness, Beryl Itani vowed to help make the City of Kelowna and the Regional District of the Central Okanagan “the most prepared place in all of Canada” in which to face a crisis or natural disaster.
It took quite some time for disaster to strike on a grand scale, but there were several urgent crises to get through before the history-making Okanagan Mountain Park forest fire struck Kelowna in the summer of 2003.
One of the first major crises – over a decade ago- was here on the Westside. The Mount Boucherie forest fire could be seen for miles, and threatened hundreds of homes in Lakeview Heights. Beryl Itani and her team were ready.
Beryl Itani has been the Emergency Social Services Director for the Regional District of the Central Okanagan - the Westside’s government - for 20 years.
Itani became the “ESS” director in the mid-1980’s, when an emergency preparedness plan was first organized for the City of Kelowna. The work of Itani and other farsighted emergency personnel paid off in spades when the Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire decided one night in August 2003 to leave the forest and come tearing into Kelowna.
Social Services: help with the basics for 72 hours.
When disaster strikes, the RCMP is usually first on the scene to get things officially organized, issuing evacuation notices and directing traffic. The fire department, if it isn’t dealing with fire, is also deployed to provide emergency services in addition to firefighting.
Then, as fast as humanly possible, the Emergency Social Services team kicks in. The Westside has its own ESS team - an excellent group, Itani says, headed by Anne Brown.
Staging areas are set up immediately - as far away from the scene of the trouble as possible - and people are asked to report in, get registered so that they are accounted for, and then receive the help they need right away.
ESS arranges shelter and sleeping accommodations for the night, food, and clothing - help with the basics of life for 72 hours.
This gives stricken families time to seek medical help, to find one another, to call loved ones, to contact their insurance companies.
What emergencies should we be ready for?
Since the Okanagan Valley is a semi-arid, forested, at times very hot area with lightning storms, fire in brush or the forest is the scenario most often considered. There are somewhat more remote chances of earthquake, heavy rainstorms, floods, a dangerous cargo spill on the highway, or structure fires – anything that causes people to flee their homes.
The Westside has a good selection of staging areas:
Westbank Community Hall has lots of space, alternative private rooms, kitchen facilitites, “and a fantastic caretaker”. Mt Boucherie Community Centre and its adjacent high school also have good facilities, with Constable Neil Bruce being another alternative. In times of need, the Emergency Social Services teams have access to any school buildings - though secondary schools, with their kitchens, shops and other facilities, are ideal.
“We try to keep everyone cool, calm and collected,” says Itani.
When it comes to a roof over their heads and places to sleep, the ESS team first tries to put people in hotels, for privacy; billeting is a last resort. You can contact the ESS team if you are willing to provide emergency accommodations.
Anne Brown, Leona Senez, Jim and Linda MacDonald, Madeleine and Jim Riordan take a lead role in an emergency response on the Westside. There are also many others who help in a variety of ways.
Communications:
In times of emergency, a call centre is set up for the public with one phone number to access information people need. There are ESS personnel there to arrange help for those who need it. In the event telephone contact isn’t available, if people have no phone or power, they would have to go in person to a reception centre for information.
Do you want to be there for others in times of need?
YES - more volunteers are needed!
RDCO’s Emergency Social Services team meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the Main Fire Hall on Enterprise Way, each month except July and August. Newcomers are always welcome, training is provided.
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Supporting Agencies:
These are primarily the Salvation Army, St John’s Ambulance, the Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Disaster Child Care, and the Amateur Radio Clubs. The Amateur Radio operators, Itani says, are an integral part of communications, and have been for twenty years. They have the ability to contact other radios, agencies and communications networks when the power goes off, the cable goes out, and land and cell phone lines are jammed.
Pet Care
Help for pets and livestock such as horses, is managed in case of disaster by Glenrosa resident Mandy Rawson and her group, under escort by RCMP; also available to help animals is Summerland resident Debra Silk, who “will go anywhere to help animals in crisis.”
For the wounds that don’t show on the outside:
It’s hard for people of any age to recover from trauma. When there’s an emergency, especially one Nature induces, strong people may be overwhelmed by guilt and shocked by their powerlessness. Children may be plagued by nightmares. One of the services provided by Emergency Social Services is assistance with getting help for trauma and physical injury. Psychologists, psychiatrists and ministers are connected with those who need their help, and physical injuries are first accessed St John’s Ambulance personnel, then referred to local clinics or the hospital.
Recommended website:
Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) - has a terrific website, loaded with information you may urgently need some day. This website has information on The Critical Role of Volunteers, information on how to prepare for an emergency and what to do when one emergency occurs, and links to different agencies and volunteer teams. There’s also a list of public events. It’s a good idea to visit now, before an emergency : www.pep.bc.ca
“You have to know what to do if you’re stranded,” says Beryl Itani.
“You should be prepared to be on your own for 72 hrs, in case help cannot get to you right away… have supplies on hand to get you through 72 hours on your own.”
Look at what is in Beryl's "Grab and Go Kit?"
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