Airdrie Emergency Management

Major emergencies or disasters can happen anywhere, any time or any place. Although we may not be able to avoid an occurrence, we can be prepared. Working closely with city departments, provincial and federal agencies, and other key stakeholders, Airdrie Emergency Management plans for and coordinates all emergency services and resources required during a major incident. In order to best manage the demands on emergency resources during a time of crisis, individuals and families are encouraged to learn to take care of themselves for the first 72 hours of an emergency.

The City of Airdrie uses Alberta Emergency Alerts to notify people where a disaster or emergency is occurring. By signing up to receive this information directly, you will be better informed about potential risks to your health, safety or community.

There are many ways to sign up to receive alerts directly on your phone or computer. You may choose to subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.

 The apps have the following features:

• allows alerts to be delivered based on current location (“where you are”)
• receive alerts for preselected areas (“where loved ones may be located”)
• allows the user to change the alert tone for informational alerts

Core Services

The process of emergency management involves four distinct phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Emergency management works in coordination with many other city departments as well as other external agencies and organizations to achieve outcomes.

Mitigation: Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. The mitigation phase differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term measures for reducing or eliminating risk. A hazard analysis is conducted annually to assess overall risk and plan mitigation measures.

Preparedness: In the preparedness phase, emergency management develop plans of action for when disaster strikes. Regular updates and revisions to the Municipal Emergency Management Plan are conducted to ensure its effectiveness. Meetings of the Emergency Advisory Committee and the Emergency Management Agency in accordance with the Emergency Management Bylaw ensure the City’s plan remains relevant. Preparedness also focuses on training opportunities, exercises, and public education of designated staff and stakeholders.

Response: The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders to a major incident site. This is likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as firefighters, police and medical crews. Emergency Management realizes the benefits of coordination and encourages the utilization of incident command system in the overall management of response and coordination of resources required at major incidents. 

Recovery: The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. It differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs and priorities are addressed. Recovery efforts are primarily concerned with actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, re-employment, and the repair of other essential infrastructure. Various levels of coordination and involvement is necessary in order to achieve these sometimes long-term outcomes.