![An incredible fire broke out on the James Street Swing Bridge connecting Thunder Bay to Fort William First Nation at around 7 p.m. today.](https://www.netnewsledger.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Firetruck.jpg)
THUNDER BAY – NEWS – Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week) 2014 is being recognized across Ontario May 4-10. The City of Thunder Bay encourages citizens to get involved in “I am ready. We are ready” – a theme that reinforces the importance of individual preparedness with the need to support community resiliency.
Insight from recent emergencies has shown that while many are prepared for emergencies, some may not have the support or capacity to deal with emergencies for a variety of reasons.
“This year’s focus will be to expand emergency preparedness beyond the individual to reach out to neighbours, family and friends who may be vulnerable or incapable of supporting themselves during an emergency,” said Dennis Brescacin, Community Emergency Management Coordinator – Thunder Bay Fire Rescue. “Hence, the focus of the campaign is diverse and vulnerable groups, which includes people with disabilities and special needs, children, seniors and pets. We encourage citizens to be prepared and take care of each other.”
Everyone can play a vital role in EP Week. Following are a few highlights of ways to get involved:
• Subscribe to alerts – During the 2013 Ice Storm in southern Ontario, many people relied on their mobile devices to get hydro power updates and other vital information. If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to alerts at www.emergencymanagementontario.ca and tell your family and friends about this useful tool to receive emergency notifications and preparedness messaging before and during an emergency.
• Build an Emergency Action Plan – This online tool helps families build a customized emergency plan tailored to their needs. Build your plan and encourage others to do the same at www.ontario.ca/beprepared
• Test your knowledge of emergency preparedness with the EP Week quiz – This quiz contains facts and tips about how you can protect yourself before, during and after an emergency. It’s a quick and informative multiple choice quiz. Make sure you complete it and encourage others to participate.
• “Prepare yourselfie” – For those active on social media, be part of the conversations to promote and support EP Week by using the hashtags #iamready, #weareready and #ONready to show how you have “prepared yourselfie”.
• “Share your stories” – All Ontarians are encouraged to share their preparedness stories by posting comments, videos and pictures on social networks and to follow @ontariowarnings and @ontfiremarshal