Shell Funds Emergency Ops Centre
Jodi Nypuik (R), Shell Scotford emergency services coordinator, presents a cheque for $90,000 to Fort Sask Fire Chief James Clark (L) and Mayor Gale Katchur. The funding will be used to purchase a back-up generator for the City’s emergency command centre. Photo supplied.
The funding will be used to purchase a back-up generator, which provides the required functionality to operate the emergency command centre as an independent facility.
“Our response capability in an emergency situation, or providing support in an industrial incident scenario, is greatly improved by adding a fully-functioning, primary emergency operations centre,” said Fire Chief James Clark. “This is a valuable enhancement to the Fort Saskatchewan City Centre Square development.”
The EOC serves as a command central for the City in the event of an emergency, industrial incident or natural disaster affecting residents of Fort Saskatchewan and surrounding community.
The City’s existing EOC is a dual-purpose facility that is also used for City business and programs.
In order to build a new EOC as part of the new City Centre Square development, the City had to have infrastructure in place to support operation in the event of power disruption or failure; hence, the need for a back-up generator.
“The ideal situation is to have a fully equipped facility, because in an emergency, you need everything accessible, functioning and ready to go, which is difficult to maintain when it’s open for use by others,” explained Clark.
“This new EOC is tailored to meets the needs of the City’s IS training requirements and therefore has the
technology in place to meet the unique needs of the emergency response team without requiring any additional set up,” explained Michelle Bohachyk, Director of Information Services.
Shell’s investment in the project came through the company’s “Community Safety Program”, a fund established in recognition of the safe and successful start-up of its AOSP Expansion in 2011, which added 100,000 barrels
per day processing capacity to its existing Upgrader facility near Fort Saskatchewan and mining operations near Fort McMurray.
“Safety is a core value for Shell, and we invest significant resources and time into our own emergency preparedness, so we appreciate the importance of this facility to the city of Fort Saskatchewan,” said Arnel Santos, General Manager, Scotford Upgrader. “This opportunity aligns well with Shell’s desire to support safety-enhancing initiatives for residents in our nearby communities through our Community Safety Program.”
City Centre Square is under construction and expected to be complete in December 2012. The new primary EOC will be constructed as part of the old City Hall renovations that will be complete in 2013.
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