Emergency Preparedness Plan

We are pleased to announce that Brookfield Condominium Services’ has developed the industry’s most comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) for our condominium communities. 

Our Plan addresses ten (10) types of emergencies which are most likely to impact a condominium community.  For most types of emergencies, we discuss Preparation, Response and Recovery steps.  We have also developed a Quick Response Guide which addresses, in brief, the key response steps to be taken in each emergency in the event of a crisis.   A Site Emergency Response Plan/Team section is designed to assist management and the board in making their unique community ready.

It’s human nature to be optimistic and positive. However, emergencies do happen and it’s naïve not to plan and prepare especially when the consequences can be property damage, personal injury or worse.

In August 2003 and again in December 2013 electrical blackouts left the GTA, and larger parts of Canada and the U.S., without power for several days.  On March 4, 2015, a fire in a shipping container at the Port of Vancouver burned industrial disinfectant and created a toxic cloud.  Many residents were evacuated, others in a 6 km² area were ordered to “shelter-in-place.”  Police wearing gas masks went building to building to enforce the order. Unfortunately, Vancouver residents and property managers alike were unfamiliar with shelter-in-place procedures. Our EPP addresses shelter-in-place in at least three different areas. Our sites can be prepared.

Clearly, emergencies do happen. Today, many insurers are requiring proof that an emergency preparedness plan has been implemented prior to renewing policies.  Our plan currently covers ten emergencies and offers an additional eight support plans that apply broadly to all of the emergency scenarios. In addition, our EPP includes nine Top 10 and Top 12 lists to assist managers and boards in identifying implementation priorities.

We have provided each our sites with a chart entitled 12 Monthly Steps to Implementation. The chart lists three or four implementation steps to be addressed in each month of the next year.  If addressed, the 12 Monthly Steps will substantially implement the plan at your site.   We urge all our managers and boards to work through the 12 Monthly Steps and all preparation items with focus and determination. Some will require budget and expenditures. Where possible, we have provided budget estimates and identified the contractors best positioned to help.

We also encourage our communities to practice and drill their response plans.  Finally, everyone should consider the recovery steps thoughtfully.  If an emergency occurs, managers and boards will be judged on their ability to restore their communities to the pre-emergency normal as quickly as possible. Preparation and response may be flawless, but a speedy recovery will be the key to success.

Education and training for emergency preparedness will be ongoing.  Twelve industry experts will make more than fifteen presentations at five of our managers’ meetings.  Their presentations will be shared with our boards. We encourage you to keep yourselves informed.  If you have any questions regarding our Emergency Preparedness Plan, you can address them to your property manager, your regional manager, or to our Director of Training and Communications (rpetershofer@brookfieldcs.com).