It is Emergency Preparedness Week across Canada, a day to encourage people to be prepared for the range of disasters and emergencies they could face. 

Weyburn Fire Chief Trent Lee said the consequences of natural disasters are quite common in Canada, and here in Weyburn we should be prepared for anything from blizzards to flooding.  

“We have possibilities of tornadoes,” said Lee. “Those are Mother Nature risks, but we also could have disasters such as power outages or industrial transportation accidents. We have a major train line running through the city, we could have an incident that affects quite a number of people within the city should that happen.”   

Lee said the people of Weyburn should always be ready for these situations, and that there are three steps to being prepared. 

“Knowing the risks, what could possibly interfere with our normal day to day activities is step number one, step number two is making a plan and being prepared for what could happen, then step three is getting emergency kits.”   

He explained making a plan would include locating safe exits in our homes and choosing meeting places to reunite with family or friends, knowing the location of a fire extinguisher, water shutoff valves, electrical boxes, and gas shutoff valves within our homes or businesses, and having a designated person to contact to pick up our children. 

“If we're prepared properly, we don't forget anything like vital medication that might be required, or something as simple as a food opener or a can opener for the food that we've prepared in our emergency kit, so being prepared for any type of emergency, it doesn't take a lot of time. It's not a huge investment.”   

He added a good resource for Canadians is on this website, where you can follow step by step information to build a plan.