Multi-agency simulation drill in Ontario tests collective response
It’s one of the most critical tools in the emergency response toolbox – structure.
At Enbridge Gas Distribution, the safety of our customers, the public and our employees will always be our top priority. As part of our safety pledge, we actively participate in emergency-response exercises and drills that foster important relationships with organizations and municipalities near our operations.
Recently, EGD’s Emergency Programs Office staged an exercise to test collective response to a large-scale emergency incident. The joint exercise included participants from the City of Brampton, Brampton Fire, TransCanada Pipelines, the National Energy Board (NEB), and EGD employees.
Tying together this four-hour simulation was the Incident Command System (ICS) – a state-of-the-art emergency response system used across North America by military, first-response agencies, and various levels of government.
“ICS is a standardized system,” says Bill Bishop, EGD’s emergency programs manager. “Large incidents can be hectic and disorganized, but ICS provides a logical, and proven, way of responding to incidents and collaborating with all the other groups involved in an emergency. The chain of command is clear, and everyone knows their specific role.”
Emergency response and preparedness are just one key element of Enbridge’s comprehensive, multi-layered approach to pipeline and facility safety – which also includes rigorous design and construction standards, 24/7 system monitoring, and in-line inspections.
While Enbridge holds regular emergency exercises, drills, and equipment deployment events across our North American enterprise, this exercise was different due to its size. The involvement of participants from the City of Brampton and Brampton Fire required three sites to operate simultaneously – an Incident Command Post in the field, a joint Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) on-site at the City of Brampton, and another EOC at EGD headquarters.
Exercise organizers kept participants on their toes by providing “injects” – surprises that real-life incidents can bring, like weather events or heightened social media attention. These injects served to test the participants’ ability to adapt their plans with emerging challenges and issues.
“When our Emergency Programs Office creates an emergency exercise, we have a good idea of the expected actions and response plan that participants will formulate once the exercise begins,” remarks Lisa Donnelly, EGD’s emergency programs advisor.
“Each inject is created to test our plans, so that we can learn from the simulated response and apply lessons learned to future incidents.”
During this recent exercise, observers, evaluators and local first responders scrutinized the way each group handled the emergency response.
The lessons we learn during these drills are shared with all participants – improving our preparedness procedures in the unlikely event of a real-life emergency.
