Emergency Preparedness Week May 1 – 7, 2016

Orillia Fire Department wants you to “Prepare Your Selfie” for
Emergency Preparedness Week May 1 – 7, 2016

For immediate release (April 29, 2016) – The Orillia Fire Department is encouraging residents to “Prepare Your Selfie” during Emergency Preparedness Week running May 1 – 7, 2016.

The province-wide theme of this year’s Emergency Preparedness Week focuses on the importance of personal preparedness in the case of an emergency.

“Emergencies can affect the health and safety of residents and visitors, property, the environment and the economic viability of the City of Orillia,” said Ralph Dominelli, Orillia Fire Chief. “By taking an active role in personal preparedness within your family and broader community, you will help to build a culture of preparedness in Orillia.”

An emergency is a situation or impending situation caused by forces of nature, accidents or an intentional act that constitutes a danger of major proportions to life and property. Orillia is not immune to such emergencies. Windstorms, tornadoes, blizzards, pandemics and incidents such as power outages have occurred in the city before and will likely happen again.

What can you do to “Prepare Your Selfie”?

• Make a plan - Plan and discuss with your family procedures for escaping your house, your neighbourhood and your town in the case of an emergency.
• Build a kit - Prepare in advance the essentials you will need to survive for at least 72 hours.
• Be informed - Learn the risks in your community and be aware of the alerting systems.  You can subscribe to the Red Alerts system managed by The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management.

Once you build your 72-hour emergency preparedness kit, snap a selfie and share it with the Orillia Fire Department on Twitter using their handle @OrilliaFire, along with hashtag #PrepareYourSelfie and #EPWeek2016 for a chance to win a prize. The winner will be contacted via Twitter by the Orillia Fire Department, so make sure you are following @OrilliaFire on Twitter.

Building awareness is a great first step. With your help, together we can communicate the importance of emergency preparedness to all Canadians. For more information visit orillia.ca, emergencymanagementontario.ca or call the Orillia Fire Department at 705-325-5215.

The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at orillia.ca.

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Ralph Dominelli
Fire Chief
705-325-2412
rdominelli@orillia.ca

Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications|
705-325-8929
705-238-9209 (cell)
jruff@orillia.ca