According to the Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, “If there is no tested emergency management plan in place, up to 86% of small and medium sized businesses fail within 3 years of a major incident”
What is FirstOnSite’s PREP Program?
A Priority Response Emergency Plan is a partnership plan – a collaboration between you and FirstOnSite to help your business prepare for a property disaster, and get you quickly back in business afterwards.
It is a discussion and planning session before any disaster occurs. It is our understanding of your business, and its infrastructure beforehand. It allows us to know your needs and priorities. It is our ability to help you plan for an emergency, and best utilize our know-how to help you get through it as quickly and as safely as possible. PREP is our commitment to our commercial and large loss partners. By partnering with us beforehand, you will know who to call as soon as a situation arises, you will know what to expect, and you will have peace of mind knowing that someone who knows your business is prepared to help you.
Why should I have a PREP Program for my Business?
Being prepared is always the key to effective disaster management, and planning now will prevent a bigger headache later. Having a mitigation started immediately saves time and money – both for you and your insurer – and gets you back in business faster. It is becoming standard practice in many industries to incorporate the mitigation/restoration component into your overall Emergency Response Management Plans.
FirstOnSite’s PREP program includes developing a solid communications strategy, as well as walk-throughs of your locations, so we know your procedures, challenges and options. Our partnership includes predetermining expectations and price/cost thresholds so we can work as quickly as possible, knowing you have authorized us to do so. And because of our national scope, our partnership will include immediate and consistent service delivery, regardless of where emergencies happen.
FirstOnSite’s goals are to provide peace of mind to our commercial partners – before, during and after a disaster situation.
For more information please contact Barry J. Ross at bjross(at)firstonsite.caor 416.586.3532.
2010 Winter Olympic PREP Program
Background
The executive management team of FirstOnSite met with the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia to discuss emergency management and our PREP Program in particular. A careful review of each venue was undertaken and it was agreed that FirstOnSite’s expertise would be most valuable serving the Olympic Village.
Millennium Properties reviewed the protocols and emergency preparedness plans from 3 local emergency services providers, and FirstOnSite was selected as their primary provider. We then met with Millennium Properties and VANOC Venue Services to discuss and plan for the challenges that could be encountered during the Games.
PREP Planning Approach
Our emergency response planning for the Olympic Village included numerous steps.
- Met with the Vancouver Police Department E-Ops in charge of traffic and lane closures/control
- Traveled and viewed all ingress and egress into and out of the city
- Conducted staff selection: Project Managers, construction, water damage and safety personnel
- Coordinated staff time rotations-including identifying staff on-call solutions-to minimize exhaustion in the event of a major flood or incident unrelated to the Olympics
- Provided staff accreditation
- Conducted vehicle preparedness, including every conceivable item we believed necessary to quickly mitigate a loss, deal with the effects, and remove ourselves from the location
As FirstOnSite was not an Olympic sponsor, we were not permitted to display corporate branding of any kind. All company logos-including staff clothing and equipment-were covered over before entering ANY venue location. We went to great lengths to accommodate this request.
Security Challenges
Security for the athletes was a priority. As a result, severe restrictions on items brought through the entry gates were imposed, and passage would be slow. It was determined that emergency equipment would need to enter prior to the event, and remain within the Village for the duration of the Games. A cube van was identified and loaded, and underwent exhaustive searches by Olympic security. The cube van acted as a mobile unit that could be activated throughout the Village in the case of a loss situation and returned back to its secured area, never having to leave the premises. This worked exceptionally well.
Post-2010 Winter Olympic Games
FirstOnSite was retained to provide continued emergency services, including repairs and remediation due to mould and odour control from venting issues, and the reparation of ongoing losses unrelated to the Games.