Communicating with Whitehorse residents during an emergency is essential, says Whitehorse fire chief Jason Everett.

On Thursday, he held a briefing for city council to explain its role in an emergency response.

The Whitehorse Fire Department, he said, handles 99 per cent of the emergencies it’s called to.

He said it’s that one per cent, when there’s an elevated state of emergency, that the emergency operations centre is struck to facilitate communications with other levels of government and the community.

The department responds to about 600 potential or real emergencies annually, but very rarely do the emergencies call for the activation of the emergency operations centre, he said.

Everett said some calls are not for real emergencies, and may be a false alarm triggered by any number of reasons, such as a faulty fire alarm.

But each call is treated as though it’s a genuine emergency, he told members of council.

When an emergency operations centre is struck, council and the city manager are brought in as the emergency measures commission to make decisions and communicate with other levels of government, he explained.

Everett said the commission can issue a municipal state of emergency for a 48-hour period.

Anything longer would require a territorial state of emergency.

A municipal state of emergency, he said, allows the municipality to do things that are out of the ordinary in the community.

“Essentially anything that needs to be done to protect the health and safety of the people we can do,” Everett said.

The fire chief said the commission does not get involved at the operations or tactical levels.

Rather, council and the city manager remain at a high level co-ordinating with other levels of government and securing the resources needed to address the emergency, he explained.

The commission, Everett said, has an essential role in communication with senior governments and the community.

“Typically, the first thing that fails is communication,” he said.

“So we will have to make sure we keep that as robust and simple as we can.”

Everett said there is a Whitehorse Alert system in place that residents can and should sign up for.

It automatically notifies residents of emergencies with automated phone calls either to cell phones, or land lines.

It can, for instance, send text messages or emails, depending on the individual’s preference regarding how they want to be notified. They can choose to be notified by all methods.

Everybody, he insisted, should sign up – and 1,800 already have.

He said it’s important to engage residents, to encourage them to have their own emergency plan along with a 72-hour kit ready to go should evacuation be required.

Institutions like the Whitehorse General Hospital and Whitehorse Correctional Centre should have their own emergency response plans, as it would not be possible to evacuate everybody in a timely manner, he said.

Everett said it would be a matter of hospital staff and patients sheltering in place. It would be the responsibility of the hospital’s owner – the Yukon government – to ensure the facility has the ability to shelter people in place.

Details on the city’s emergency plan can be found at Whitehorse.ca/emergency.

The plan includes a description of what should be included in the 72-hour emergency kit, such as the essentials, medicine and a battery- operated radio.

It also includes maps showing where the assembly areas are in each subdivision, so that those who do not have a vehicle and are not able to leave the area on their own know where they can seek assistance to evacuate.

Myles Dolphin, the city’s communication manager, said the city will launch a communication strategy over the next six to seven weeks to promote the importance of Whitehorse Alert. It is, he emphasized, an important tool.

Emergency Preparedness Week runs from April 1 to April 7, Dolphin pointed out. He said the push to promote the emergency plan could include things like a city booth at the Fireweed Market when it opens up.

The city has a good communication strategy set up to promote the plan and encourage residents to sign up with Whitehorse Alert, he said.

On April 14, the city will run an alert exercise on Whitehorse Alert.

The fire chief said in the event the city loses the Internet during an emergency, there would be boots on the ground knocking on doors.

Everett also noted the city has applied to a federal program for funding to support a FireSmart co-ordinator over the next three years.