2024 Surrey Fire Service Annual Report

Prepare The City of Surrey prepares for disasters by

To best prepare for the many hazards and risks identified in our city, the Surrey Emergency Program is responsible for complying with the legislation around activities in emergency planning, preparedness, response and recovery through training, stakeholder engagement, and volunteer management. Ongoing training to City staff is delivered through tabletop exercises, online learning and courses provided by the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC). By means of training and cross-departmental collaboration, the City of Surrey remains vigilant and responsive to emerging risks and ongoing hazards that could pose a threat to the community’s wellbeing. Annual hazards such as freshet, windstorms, heat, and snowstorms require collaboration among multiple City departments to allocate sufficient resources through emergency planning and preparation each year. To help inform planning and preparation activities, relationship building and networking with critical infrastructure operators, provincial ministries and other emergency management stakeholders is critical. This proactive approach aims to mitigate the risk that threatens the safety and welfare of those residing, working, and engaging in recreational activities within Surrey. Additional threats, such as the Avian flu, storm surge, and drought require ongoing monitoring and surveillance to assess potential impacts; enabling a proactive preparation to initiate a response as needed. Mitigate Disaster planning involves collaboration between First Nations, Provincial ministries and adjacent municipalities to align expectations and a coordinated response to mitigate risks and enhance resilience. Surrey’s emergency plans details roles, responsibilities and procedures for various disaster scenarios, ensuring a structured and efficient response. Four phases of emergency management in Surrey include the following.

conducting risk assessments, developing emergency plans and educating the public on how they can best prepare and respond in an emergency. Preparations also includes creating flood maps, seismic maps and working with critical infrastructure operators to ensure resiliency to extreme weather events. Respond When a disaster strikes, Surrey will activate their Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) to coordinate a response. This includes deploying first responders, setting up shelters, and providing real-time information to the public through a multi-modal communication strategy that includes but not limited to the city website, social media, digital reader boards, radio and the Alertable app. Recover Post-disaster recovery in Surrey focuses on rebuilding and restoring normalcy. This involves assessing damage, securing funding for repairs, and implementing long-term recovery plans. Collaboration with non-profit organizations as well as businesses such as the Insurance Bureau of Canada assists with supporting affected communities and building resistance against future disasters. To best provide these emergency management objectives, SEP attempts to access funding through grants as well as manages several volunteer groups committed to supporting the activities of emergency management for the benefit of the community. As technological advances provide opportunities to increase resilience, SEP continues to monitor and assess these opportunities and collaborate with regional partners as well as Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness to ensure our responsibilities to the public are delivered efficiently to lessen the impacts of disasters.

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