Be ready
Everyone has a role to play during an emergency. Plan and prepare for personal safety and the safety of your family members for the first 72 hours following a disaster. Depending on the extent of the crisis, it may take several days before first responders arrive to help. Vital services like phones, gas, electricity, or water may also be disrupted. Be ready to manage without them.
Sign up to receive local emergency alerts.
Here's what you can do to prepare:
Create an emergency supply kit
Make sure to prepare and regularly update a basic emergency supply kit and grab-and-go bag. Keep kits in an easy-to-reach location so they can be quickly retrieved in the event of an emergency.
Local evacuations
In the event of local emergency or disaster, the City has a plan to coordinate evacuations when they are required, by either the City's emergency planners or the Government of B.C.
Learn about evacuation procedures, download an evacuation map with assembly points and directions to the Emergency Reception Centre, and sign up for local emergency alerts.
Create a home fire escape plan
The time to escape safely from a typical home fire can be as little as one to two minutes from the moment a smoke alarm sounds. Home escape planning is critical in a fire situation because it ensures everybody in a household knows how to use that small window of time wisely.
An effective escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. There must always be two ways out of every room - usually through a door and a window - with a clear path to an outside meeting place that is a safe distance from the home.
Additional tips:
- Draw a map of the home with all household members and mark two exits from each room and a path outside from each exit.
- Practice a home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with the entire household and practise using different ways out.
- Teach children how to escape on their own in the event an adult cannot be present.
- Make sure home numbers are clearly marked and easy for the fire department to locate.
- Close all doors along the escape route - this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.
- Never go back inside a burning building. Once outside, remain outside.
For more information:
Four pillars of emergency management
The emergency programs division and emergency planning committee work with various divisions within the City, as well as with community partners and other levels of government, to ensure the City of Prince George is prepared and able to recover from an emergency or disaster.
The BC Emergency Program Act requires that all municipalities in B.C. maintain an emergency plan. The City of Prince George emergency program follows the four pillars of emergency management: