Make a Plan
Your family may not be in one location during an emergency. Having a plan covering different situations makes good sense. Here are two resources you could follow to help prepare a plan.
Step 1 - Make a Plan
Plan Template
Build a Kit
Residents should be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours following a major emergency or disaster. Here is a good place to find information on what should be included in your Emergency Survival Kit.
Be Informed
Do you know where to find important information during an emergency?
Find out how to stay informed during an emergency and always follow the instruction of emergency officials.
Local Information will be communicated through the municipal website, social media pages and radio station.
Shelter in Place
For some emergencies, such as a hazardous material spill, it may be safest to stay inside your home. Shelter in place means staying indoors with windows and doors shut, ideally in a room without windows. Be ready for this possibility by pre-identifying rooms and having plastic sheeting and ducts tape to seal cracks around windows and doors. You may be asked to shelter in place because of an active shooter; poor air quality; severe weather; or chemical, radiological or other hazards.
How will I be notified?
Shelter in place notifications are communicated in the same way as other emergencies. See the "Be Informed" tab for more information. In-person notifications may be required in certain situations.
In-Person Notifications
If you live or work in the area where the emergency is occurring and emergency officials think you may be at risk, they may come to your door to issue instructions. It is important to follow the instructions they give you. If there isn't enough time or resources to issue door-to-door notifications, emergency officials drive through the affected neighbourhoods providing instructions over a loud speaker.
How do I Shelter in Place?
At Home
If instructed to shelter in place, close and lock all windows and exterior doors;
Turn off all fans, vents and heating and air conditioning systems and close any fire dampers;
If possible, take refuge in a small, interior room with few or no windows. Additional protection can be provided for window and door openings by purchasing plastic and sealing with duct tape.
Although most shelter in place orders usually last a few hours, take your family emergency kit into the room with you, so you and your family and pets have a supply of food, bottle water, first air supplies and medication on hand.
Have a working radio available, so you can stay informed and know when it's safe to come out or if you need to evacuate the area.
At Work
Close the building and ask all staff, customers and visitors to stay inside the building.
Close and lock all doors, windows and any other opening to the outside.
Turn off, seal or disable all building mechanical systems, such as fans, heating and air conditioning systems and systems that automatically supply fresh air.
Avoid rooms with large windows or mechanical equipment like ventilation blowers or pipes, as it might not be possible to seal off this equipment from the outdoors.
Stay informed and know when it's safe to come out or if you need to evacuate the area.
Evacuating Kirkland Lake
If the emergency is serious enough, it may be in your best interest to leave your home or community. Emergency officials will assess the incident and determine what emergency measures are required to protect people and property. If evacuations are required, the Mayor will declare a local state of emergency for part or all of the community.
Here's what you need to know to leave Kirkland Lake safely in case of an evacuation.
- Stay Informed
- Regular updates will be shared on a number of different channels to ensure you have the latest emergency information to stay safe.
- Watch the news and follow social media for current advice and instructions from local emergency officials
- Follow the instructions of emergency officials
- A comprehensive evacuation is in place to ensure everyone is evacuated safely.
- Find you evacuation zone
- Kirkland Lake's snow removal routes are the same as the evacuation zones. Officials may evacuate people all at once or by zone.
- Know the difference between an evacuation alert and an evacuation order
- An evacuation order for some of all evacuation zones will be issues if time and resources allow; emergency officials will travel door to door in affected evacuation zones to notify residents and visitors that an evacuation order has been issues and that they must leave.
- Find Transportation
- The evacuation order will provide instructions on evacuation routes and where people without transportation can access public transit that will take them to a safe location.
- Determine you destination
- Reception centres outside the evacuation zone will be established for people without a place to stay.
Community Support Centres
At the centres, which will stay open as long as they are needed, residents can talk to community and social services, the Temiskaming Health Unit staff, Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army representatives would be on-hand to triage, answer questions and direct to services.
Helpful Tips for Evacuating
- Wear weather appropriate clothing
- Before you leave home:
- Close and lock all windows and doors
- Take medication and important legal and insurance documents
- Make arrangements for your pets.
- Turn off basement furnaces and the outside gas valve
- Shut off electricity
- Contact or leave a note for family members explaining you have left and where you have gone.
- Call an out-of-town relative or friend so they can tell loved ones that you are safe.
- While in your vehicle
- Try not to drive through floodwaters
- If you are caught in fast-rising waters and your car stalls, leave the car
- Keep a full tank of gas if an evacuation is likely
- Take one car per family to reduce congestion and delays
- Obey speed limits and official's directions around road closures
- Don't try to cross a flood area on foot.