Emergency response put to the test

An incident command system first used by U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was put to the test in Dunnville last week during an Asian carp exercise on the Grand River.

John Saunders, an emergency management expert with 30 years of experience, said the FEMA system is used by most first-response agencies across North America, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada wanted to use it as well.

“I’ve been working with them (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) for the last two years, creating a response strategy and giving incident command system training,” said Saunders, a contractor who owns Saunders Enterprises and Emergency Management Services.

Saunders said the system makes working with other agencies easier, especially those from the U.S., as there is no border when it comes to invasive species.

“I developed the response strategy specifically with invasive species in mind. This was an opportunity to test the response and to tweak things, to ensure we haven’t missed any gaps. We wanted to identify the best practices Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been using when Asian carp have been caught.”

An after-action report on exercise would help Saunders and the federal agency in rewriteing the emergency plan based on what was learned on the Grand River.

Asked what he saw that could be improved that day, Saunders said there were minor things when it came to administration and what supplies might be needed to set up an emergency operations centre at a scene.

“There was a lot of interest in this, and the participation has been phenomenal.”

Grand River Conservation Authority had observers at the exercise, while provincial agencies that deal with invasive species sent staff to take part and observe as well.