Services & Support

The Strathcona Regional District’s (SRD) Emergency Program includes projects, programs and resources to support emergency preparedness and response.

Our strength is our volunteers
The success of the Strathcona Emergency Program is made possible by the dedication of many volunteers who contribute their time, skills, and expertise to emergency preparedness and response.

The Strathcona Regional District gratefully acknowledges the support of volunteer organizations and partner agencies, including Emergency Radio Communications, Emergency Support Services, Search and Rescue, the Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Canadian Animal Disaster Response Team, and St. John Ambulance.

We thank these organizations and their volunteers for their ongoing commitment to keeping our communities safe.

All current and past Emergency Services are now featured in SRD's projects and initiatives directory.  
Select Emergency Planning from the drop-down menu to refine your search.

SRD Projects & Initiatives Directory

Listed below are a few of our featured initiatives.

The SRD sponsors Emergency Support Services (ESS) Teams as part of a regional approach to providing humanitarian aid throughout our regional district.

If you are interested in joining one of these teams, please contact preparedness@srd.ca.

ESS is the at the heart of emergency response. British Columbians forced from their homes by fire, floods, earthquakes or other emergencies may receive ESS for up to 72 hours. 

ESS Volunteer responsibilities may include:

• Coordinating the provision of:
  • Food, clothing and lodging
  • Emotional support
  • Pet care
  • Transportation
• Identifying locations for reception centres and group lodging to house and feed people forced from their homes
• Working with local businesses, service organizations and government agencies
• Providing information about the crisis
• Finding and coordinating other volunteers
• Family reunification

For more information about the role ESS plays during an emergency, check out these videos:  

• What is a Reception Centre?
• What is a Group Lodging Facility?

Volunteer - Emergency Radio Communications Team

Emergency Communications Team (ECT) members help to communicate messages quickly and securely during an emergency. They as a back-up option when primary communications systems are challenged or not functioning. Other back-up services include commercial radio frequencies, satellite telephone and marine radio.

The Strathcona Emergency Program provides most of the emergency communications equipment needed to operate this service. The program maintains a library of equipment and tools that ECT members can sign out to practice and develop their skill set further. Modern communication systems can get overloaded during crises, fail if cell towers go down, or be completely lost in natural disasters. In addition, while first responders typically have primary and secondary communication systems, many support agencies, such as local government, First Nation Emergency Operation Centres and Emergency Support Services facilities do not.

Benefits of amateur radio include:  

•  It can play an important backup communications role during emergency events
• Most equipment is portable and can operate independently from the main electrical system
• The wide variety of available amateur radio frequencies enables multiple networks to be established to serve different emergency support functions

Questions or interested in volunteering? Please contact the Emergency Services Department. 

Resources