Debriefing anDebriefing anEmergency Control GroupEmergency Control Group

August 20, 20099 Ontario Tornados

• 11 year old boy killed and several other children injured at a day camp

• Destroyed multiple buildings and homes

• Power lines down across the region

• Cell phone system out of service

• Fire paging system failed

• One reporter town overwhelmed by media

• State of emergency declared which lasted several days

• EMO present every day for more than two weeks

• Premier arrived for a media tour

• Mayor called for a debriefing

• Morning session for municipal and emergency services

• Afternoon session added local agencies– Hospital– Police Dispatch – Conservation Authority– Volunteer coordinators

• Established the purpose of the debriefing– Improve the municipality’s capabilities in

responding to future emergencies

• Not critical incident stress debriefing

• Pre-questions to consider

• Was the municipal emergency plan in place appropriate / adequate?

• Was there an annual table top exercises? 

• Was there any pre-warning / advanced notification? If so, how was it received and shared within the group?

• Who made the decision to call the Emergency Control Group together? How was the decision communicated to the ECG team members?

• How effective was the communication between the site Incident Manager(s) and the Emergency Control Group? What back up communications are in place?

• Was there a business cycle established?

• Was the ECG prepared to deal with the media? Was the message coordinated between agencies?

• Was the Emergency Operations Centre adequate for the purpose?

• If this was a prolonged incident requiring 24 hour staffing over several days (e.g. ice storm of 1998) how would the ECG operate?

• What was one key lesson you learned from the experience?

• Rules– Highlight the successes– Identify challenges but never pointing out

individuals– Constructive comments only

• Engaging the group – ask questions

• Everyone had opportunity to speak

• Chronological stories

• Who, Where, What, When, Why, How

• Focused on IMS functions– Incident Manager

– Operations

– Planning

– Logistics

– Finance / Administration

– Safety

– Public Information

– Liaison and inter-agency communications

• Report looked at:– Initial actions – ECG notification, information flow– Initial EOC operations– EOC functionality (room, equipment, power, etc.)– IMS Functions– Volunteerism– Training– Recommendations

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