For over 10 years Ally has been assisting FortisBC to plan and execute emergency exercises involving their Furry Creek propane plant site in North Vancouver. This year, we ran a full-scale exercise involving over 30 Fortis personnel and several key stakeholder groups including the Squamish Lillooet Regional District, the Britannia Beach Volunteer Fire Department, and the local strata council. The imagined scenario for this year’s exercise was a leak in the propane tank caused by a failure of tank integrity.
The aim of the exercise was to enhance FortisBC’s ability to respond to incidents of this nature at this particular location. This included working with external agencies like the fire department and Regional District, and navigating the unique challenges of this community’s location nestled in between Howe Sound and the narrow Sea to Sky Highway.
To launch the exercise, Ally simulated phone calls from the public into the FortisBC emergency line with information about what they were hearing and smelling. From these initial calls, the FortisBC emergency plan springs into action, leading to a standup of their Emergency Operations Centre, and the development of an action plan for the incident site.
Through this exercise, FortisBC participants were able to practice or discuss possible key aspects of the emergency response including the formation of Unified Command with the fire department, evacuation of residents, closure of the highway, resumption of energy service to customers, and communication with all relevant stakeholders.
Concurrently, the FortisBC public affairs emergency team were exercising their plan to communicate with the public and media, while informing partners and stakeholders of the ongoing situation. To add realism to the exercise, the FortisBC emergency line and media team receiving simulated phone calls and social media posts from the public, traditional media, and local government offices.
Overall, exercise participants agreed that objectives had been met, including the critically important aim of coordinating and synchronizing all stakeholders and responders to an emergency event in this small, uniquely positioned community. Ally looks forward to continued years of helping to exercise the emergency response plan and procedures of FortisBC’s Furry Creek propane plant.
