HELEN FORNWALD:

Pet stickers, emergency kits and education...those are the three main areas of focus for the Emergency Services in Estevan next week!

Emergency Preparedness week is the first full week of May, which this year falls from May 6 – 12. Here's what the City of Estevan will be busy with!

PET CARE

Pet Care has been an issue with some of the emergencies that we have dealt with in the past, such as the flooding evacuations. and felt that we needed to inform and educate our residents on how best to handle the safety of their pets in emergency situations.

We will be distributing stickers that residents can install on their front window or door that is visible to emergency services. It will be used in the event that we would need to come into the residence such as a mandatory evacuation.

The stickers will be sent out in May and June in your utilities bill.

If you don’t get a sticker and would like one please stop by City Hall and get one from the front desk. The sticker will have the type and number of pets that you have and an emergency number that emergency services can reach you at.

SCHOOL VISITS

Every year the Estevan Fire Services, Red Cross and the City of Estevan Emergency Preparedness Coordinator attend schools throughout our community to educate grade 3 students on being prepared in the event of an emergency.

We teach them about ready kits, escape routes, dialing 911, what to do in a fire, being prepared in a disaster, plus many others.

Sparky the dog comes and the children just love learning from him.

Parents should go over the packages that their children are provide and discuss the items at home and build an emergency family plan with your children.

EMERGENCY KITS

A reminder to residents to have an emergency readiness kit for your home and vehicle.

This will include items such as; flashlights, batteries, crank radio, water, non perishable food items, can opener, first aid kit, a copy of your ID, extra keys to your house and car, medication, cash and a copy of your emergency plan.

We have a complete list of the items on our website at www.estevan.ca under residents and emergency preparedness.

SASK ALERT APP

Also, We are now using the provincial alerting system, Sask Alert App to notify residences of emergencies.

This is our number one alerting system that we will use to communicate to residents and people in our community about emergencies that will affect them.

The alerts will be broadcasted on our local radio stations as well as through tv stations.

The app is free and can be downloaded on the app store or google play.

The alerts could be anything from drinking water advisors to a mandatory evacuation.