A city-wide emergency can happen at any time. Recently, we’ve seen how a disaster can affect a community with the forest fires in Fort McMurray, and we experienced our own event in 2015 with the flood. The City of Chestermere continues to evolve our emergency response effectiveness by participating in emergency preparedness, planning, and training to better understand risk and how to respond to major events. The City-run Chestermere Emergency Management Agency (CHEMA) is dedicated to preventing, preparing for, and coordinating disaster response and relief efforts.
CHEMA’s mission is to safeguard human life, prevent undue suffering and hasten the recovery from disasters or major emergency events. They analyze risk, coordinate resources, and establish programs and plans for emergency preparedness. CHEMA keeps up-to-date on legislation, communications, training, and new advances in emergency preparedness.
The CHEMA team consists of members representing the City of Chestermere’s administration, Council, fire department, peace officers, and the RCMP. Each member has a defined role in case of a disaster. CHEMA works with community partners to enhance disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Partners include the Western Irrigation District, Alberta Transportation, CUI, Rocky View County, and the City of Calgary.
Public awareness is also a key focus area. CHEMA plans various community events, including public courses and Emergency Preparedness Week, which occurs from May 7-13 in 2017. This is a great opportunity for you and your family to learn ways to personally prepare for emergencies.
As a member of CHEMA, I take comfort knowing that our safety, in the event of a disaster, is in the hands of this very capable agency. On behalf of Council, thank you to all the dedicated members for putting our safety first.
Gail Smith, Deputy Mayor
City of Chestermere
Phone: (403) 207-7050
Email: gsmith@chestermere.ca
