Testing Emergency Readiness in Langley Schools
May 2, 2023
Maps and charts were hung up on the walls and District staff in multi-coloured vests were busy at work in the Langley School District’s Board room on Wednesday, April 26.
It was all part of an emergency preparedness simulation exercise conducted by members of the District’s Emergency Operations Centre (or EOC) and led by Emergency Preparedness Facilitator Collette O’Reilly.
The EOC is the control centre in an emergency where key staff in the District take on various roles and work together to help support activities in response to an emergency.
In this simulation, members of the EOC practiced their roles and actions in response to the “Big One.” The imaginary earthquake triggered a series of fictional emergencies at District sites including a fire and gas leak.
The ‘all hands-on deck’ training was aimed to test the District’s readiness in an emergency to help keep everyone safe when unforeseen events happen now and in the future.
“The health and safety of all our students and staff is the District’s top priority, which is why we continue to strive to improve our emergency preparedness procedures,” said Assistant Superintendent Marcello Moino. “The recent drill demonstrates our commitment to keeping our schools safe, and we want parents to know that in an emergency, their children are in good hands.”
As part of the drill, District staff executed ‘actions’ including evacuating schools, relocating students to safe spaces off-site, and reuniting students with their families, while keeping the school community and local municipalities informed. Activities required staff collaboration in operations, planning, logistics, facilities, finance, and communications.
Staff worked together to ensure school sites had the right supplies and personnel to meet the immediate needs of students. Staff were delivering fictitious first-aid kits and re-deploying first aid attendants from low priority sites to help support students with any physical and emotional needs.
“We know that emergencies can have a major impact on the mental health and well-being of our students and staff, which is why we prioritize mental-health support before, during and after these situations, should they occur. Our recent drill not only tested our overall readiness but also our mental preparedness to ensure that we are providing a safe, supportive environment for everyone,” Moino said.
Moino also leads the Board’s Emergency Preparedness Committee which meets a few times each year to identify priorities and action items for the District to work on. The simulation was one of the established priorities for the District when it comes to emergency preparedness.
District staff will be reviewing the drill to determine what worked, what didn’t work, and develop strategies to improve.
“With it being our first time, it was a success. Although we don’t want these types of emergencies to happen, I am confident our staff will be able to work together to ensure everyone in our school community will be safe,” added Moino.