Emergency Preparedness in the City of Medicine Hat

The City of Medicine Hat

The City of Medicine Hat, located deep in Southern Alberta, near the US border, is known as Canada's sunniest city. This region experiences a unique blend of prairie climate, characterized by abundant sunshine, strong winds, and occasional severe weather. While it benefits from extensive solar and wind farms, it also faces the challenges of prairie landscapes, including tornadoes and rapid grass fires, reminiscent of those seen in Australia. Notably, Medicine Hat is spared the forest fires common in Northern Alberta, hundreds of kilometers away. The city's landscape, coupled with its proximity to a significant river, makes flood planning a crucial aspect of local emergency management, with detailed incident management plans in place.

The weather in Medicine Hat is notoriously volatile, with extreme temperature swings between seasons. Winter temperatures can plummet to minus 45 degrees Celsius, despite its southern location, while summer temperatures can soar to plus 40 degrees Celsius. This dramatic variation contributes to the city's experience with both intense heat and severe cold. The flat, prairie terrain exacerbates these conditions, allowing for rapid temperature changes and contributing to the swift spread of grass fires. The South Zone All Hazard Incident Management Team in Medicine Hat, part of Alberta's broader incident management framework, plays a vital role in preparing for and responding to these diverse natural hazards, ranging from floods to fires, across a wide geographical area.    

‍A Proactive Approach to Emergency Management

The Medicine Hat Incident Management team, while officially led by a small core group including Merrick Brown, Director of Emergency Management, operates within a broader "preparedness culture" that permeates the entire municipality. The team leverages D4H's team management tools, recognizing the platform's value beyond incident response. The team's role has expanded beyond traditional disaster management to include business continuity, cyber security, and crisis leadership, reflecting a growing awareness of the interconnectedness of these areas. This shift is driven by the increasing frequency and complexity of incidents, often compounded by climate change, where one event quickly follows another.

Medicine Hat's unique infrastructure, where the city manages its gas, electricity, and airport, significantly influences its incident management approach. This self-sufficiency means that incidents impacting these critical services directly involve city personnel, leading to a more active and hands-on response. For example, windstorms necessitate immediate action by city crews to restore power, rather than relying on external utility companies. This direct involvement highlights the importance of a well-prepared and readily deployable workforce, which Medicine Hat has cultivated through its culture of preparedness.

Medicine Hat's Incident Command System

Despite having a small dedicated emergency management staff, the team can quickly mobilize a large network of city employees during incidents. This "team of 100 people" reflects the city's commitment to preparedness, with executives supporting the activation of personnel across departments. The team utilizes a traditional Incident Command System (ICS) framework, rather than a conventional Emergency Operations Center (EOC), to manage incidents. This approach emphasizes a structured and scalable response, allowing the city to effectively address a wide range of emergencies, from natural disasters to infrastructure failures.

The Incident Command Post (ICP)is fully staffed during activations, including roles like Information Officer, Safety Officer, Operations, Logistics, and Finance. While a small liaison team may connect with elected officials, the focus is on a robust ICP where trained personnel from across the city can efficiently manage the incident. The city emphasizes simplifying operations and providing necessary tools and resources to enable effective response. D4H is one such tool, aiding in streamlining processes and minimizing distractions for operational teams. The goal is to create a self-sustaining incident management system, reducing reliance on individual personnel and ensuring smooth, efficient responses.

D4H: A Key Tool for Effective Emergency Management Operations

Medicine Hat has integrated D4H into its incident management framework to streamline operations and enhance communication. Merrick emphasized the importance of having solid processes in place before implementing any software, and D4H has proven to be a valuable tool for supporting their existing workflows.

One of the key reasons Medicine Hat chose D4H was its ability to pre-build incident plans, particularly for predictable events like floods. This feature allows the team to quickly access and deploy detailed plans, saving critical time during an emergency.

D4H Implementation

Medicine Hat's approach to implementing D4H emphasized the importance of established processes before introducing new software. They focused on ensuring D4H aligned with their existing Emergency Operations Plan, creating detailed guides within the plan itself. This allowed personnel to understand how to utilize D4H in their specific roles, whether in operations, logistics, or liaison functions. The city aims to leverage D4H beyond its intended design, recognizing its usability and functionality for various organizational needs.

With D4H the possibilities are endless.

— Merrick Brown, Director of Emergency Management at the City of Medicine Hat.

The city's strategy involves integrating D4H into day-to-day operations, not just emergency response. This approach, similar to that of a local hospital, simplifies the transition during incidents, as personnel are already familiar with the platform. This seamless integration ensured a consistent workflow, whether in routine tasks or emergencys. The implementation process was characterized by a clear understanding of their needs, making them efficient purchasers and operators of the system.

During the implementation, Medicine Hat focused on configuring D4H to support operational efficiency. They prioritized tools that would minimize distractions and empower operational teams to perform at their best. This included customizing the platform to fit their specific needs, such as developing situation reports and status boards tailored to their incident management procedures. The city's proactive approach and dedication to streamlining operations contributed to a smooth and effective D4H implementation.

Customization and Practical Application

Medicine Hat has customized D4H to meet its specific needs. They've developed meeting templates, detailed operational work assignments, and resource request forms within the platform. These customizations ensure that everyone, from operational personnel to supervisors, has the information and tools they need to perform their roles effectively.

Merrick highlighted the importance of making it as easy as possible for operations to function during an incident. D4H plays a crucial role in achieving this by providing a common operating picture, facilitating communication, and enabling efficient resource management. The team uses D4H for everything from tracking tasks and managing resources to maintaining a log for their liaison officer.

D4H allows us to make things as easy as possible for operations while still maintaining a common operating picture.

— Merrick Brown, Director of Emergency Management at the City of Medicine Hat.

Situation Reports

Medicine Hat's unique infrastructure influences its use of D4H's Situation Report. Unlike traditional EOC setups, they prioritize mobile ICPs that deploy directly to the incident site, often within existing infrastructure like utility buildings. This ensures operational teams remain in their familiar environments, maximizing efficiency. To bridge the gap between these dispersed locations, D4H serves as a virtual hub, linking all operations.

Within the Situation Report, Medicine Hat leverages features like the "Meetings and Briefings" section to maintain structured communication. They utilize traditional Incident Command System terminology, categorizing meetings as "tactics" or "strategy" and scheduling them with required attendees and online meeting links. This ensures that all personnel are informed and connected, regardless of their physical location.

Forms

The city also explores D4H's forms to streamline information gathering and dissemination. They continuously seek ways to enhance D4H's functionality, such as automating online meeting link generation and scheduling, to further simplify operations and improve communication during incidents. Their focus is on making the system as user-friendly as possible for operational teams, ensuring they have the tools they need to perform effectively.

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Additionally, the city uses D4H forms to manage operational work assignments and resource requests, particularly in scenarios like flood response. They have pre-populated forms for specific branches, such as property protection and evacuation, enabling quick and efficient task allocation and resource mobilization during incidents.

Medicine Hat has developed a comprehensive system for managing operational work assignments within D4H forms, focusing on detailed planning and real-time tracking. They've created a robust task board for operational personnel, allowing them to plan, execute, and monitor work assignments efficiently. For example, when installing a flood wall, the branch director can create specific tasks, set start and end times, provide instructions, assign personnel, and even upload relevant procedures. This ensures that field personnel have all the necessary information at their fingertips, essentially providing them with a detailed job plan.

The system incorporates conditional form adding, allowing for specific location details to be captured, whether it's a general area or a precise pin on a map. This information is then displayed on a map within D4H, providing a clear visual representation of where resources are deployed. This helps prevent overlap and facilitates resource sharing. The city also tracks contractor and volunteer involvement, including contact information, costs, and organization details. Real-time updates, including progress status and photo uploads, allow for continuous monitoring and communication between supervisors and field personnel. The system is designed to be used on mobile devices, enabling seamless data entry and updates from the field, ensuring a cradle-to-grave tracking of work assignments. Medicine Hat is also interested in improvements to the system, such as the ability to assign multiple personnel to a single task, and is open to using extension packs to further enhance their D4H implementation.

Emergency Social Services (ESS)

Medicine Hat utilizes D4H Incident Management to manage its Emergency Social Services (ESS) facilities, aiming to digitize and centralize critical information. They record details like facility capacity and amenities, and even upload photos, enabling quick assessments during incident planning. This approach streamlines the process of selecting suitable facilities for various needs. The city also uses D4H to maintain a comprehensive database of external agencies, including contact information and communication logs, ensuring seamless liaison operations. Additionally, they are building a lodging database with hotel capacities and contact details.

We can now get rid of all our binders and pages and store all our facilities in D4H.

— Merrick Brown, Director of Emergency Management at the City of Medicine Hat.

Looking Ahead

Medicine Hat is actively refining its use of D4H, with ongoing plans to integrate more of its emergency management plan and related information into the platform. They are particularly enthusiastic about upcoming D4H developments, such as enhanced map filtering and improved tools for planning future operations. Medicine Hat's experience with D4H highlights the critical role of preparedness and the importance of user-friendly emergency management software.

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