Emergency exercise tests St. Marys' disaster preparedness

On Thursday, May 31, the Town of St. Marys brought together 11 organizations and over 100 staff to conduct an emergency exercise. Dubbed “Exercise Toto”, this year’s scenario tested the community’s response to a simulated tornado touchdown in Rannoch and the west end of St. Marys.

“It’s good practice to use a scenario that is a real threat to the town,” said Richard “Andy” Anderson, the Town’s Fire Chief and Community Emergency Management Coordinator. “Tornados have touched down in Southwestern Ontario in the past, so there’s every reason to believe it will happen again. The exercise ensured all agencies involved worked well together, and nothing is left to chance.”

The exercise involved the Town of St. Marys, Ontario Provincial Police, Perth County Paramedics,
St. Marys Firefighters, Canadian Red Cross, Victim Services Bruce Grey Perth, Social Services, Salvation Army, Perth Department Health Unit, Stratford-Perth Humane Society, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance and St. John Ambulance.

Around two-dozen citizen-volunteers also participated, including students from St. Marys DCVI and residents from Kingsway Lodge. Acting as evacuees who had their homes destroyed, they were transported by Murphy Bus Lines to a mock Evacuation Centre at the Pyramid Recreation Centre.

The St. Marys Memorial Hospital also conducted their own table-top exercise to test their ability to care for patients after such an event.

Fire Chief Anderson hopes the exercise will inspire residents to be disaster-prepared. “Everyone should have a Home Emergency Survival Kit that supplies your family for 72 hours,” he explained.

For details about how your family can prepare for an emergency, visit https://www.perthcounty.ca/en/county-government/emergency-preparedness.aspx.

Additional Information

The Town led a similar exercise in May of 2017. The 2017 scenario, known as “Exercise Hail Mary,” measured the Town’s response to a collision that involved a school bus and an oil tanker truck. Details about last year’s exercise can be found at: http://www.townofstmarys.com/Modules/News/index.aspx?keyword=&date=05/01/2017&newsId=21b0711c-4c64-4e66-b720-f718f258a6c8

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Contact

Stacey Wheal, Corporate Communications Specialist
519-284-2340, ext. 429 | swheal@town.stmarys.on.ca