April 22, 2002—The Ontario Government has released a new emergency guide to improve the safety and security of high-rise buildings, delivering on one of its commitments to increase emergency readiness across the province.
The Guide to Strengthen Emergency Management of High-Rise and High-Risk Buildings is designed to help owners and operators of high-rise facilities to develop emergency management and evacuation plans. The 58-page booklet deals with both human-caused and natural disasters, ranging from earthquakes to terrorist attacks.
The new guide is available on-line.
Since September 11, the provincial government has announced more than $30 million for new initiatives to further improve Ontario’s emergency preparedness and support municipalities in their efforts to protect community safety. These measures include:
- More than doubling the budget of Emergency Measures Ontario to improve the province’s emergency preparedness and support municipalities with emergency planning and training;
- Building new facilities at the Ontario Fire and Police Colleges to provide additional training for firefighters, police and other emergency workers;
- Creating a terrorism awareness self-study course for first responders (police, fire and health services);
- Hosting a Counter-Terrorism Summit which included international experts and senior representatives of Ontario’s emergency services sector;
- Introducing the Emergency Readiness Act to help ensure that municipalities, firefighters, police and other emergency workers are as prepared as possible in the event of a serious emergency; and
- Creating new rapid response and anti-terrorism policing units.
