When times are tough people call 9-1-1. Quickly, men and women in uniform arrive and most times they save the day.
The fires raging in northern Alberta however are a different story. An inferno around Fort McMurray engulfed close to 400,000 acres. To draw perspective, the fire ravaged a land mass two-thirds the size of Wellington County. Over 80,000 people have been displaced. That number is slightly less than the population count for the whole of Wellington County. Many of them will have nothing to return home to, apart from charred remains.
It was heartening to see locals embrace the spirit of giving. A group from Arthur, the Salvation Army and the traditional Red Cross efforts are gathering up goods and funds to ease the burden of people who have lost practically everything.
The media tend to flock to such locations and keep viewers and readers abreast of the happenings. This past week an unassuming man was interviewed on a station that escapes our memory, but he made a great case for the region’s inhabitants essentially becoming refugees overnight. That observation hit home with us, causing the imagination to run away with the notion of being a displaced person, with a family in tow.
Albertans are a hardy lot, but this challenge will prove ominous in the weeks and months ahead.
The chance of such natural devastation in our county is slim. This isn’t to say we should be unaware of potential issues that could devastate a community. In fact, our local emergency services make routine efforts to inform and educate the public in the event of a crisis.
We were reminded of that when our daughter came home with a package from the Guelph-Eramosa fire department recently. It was quite similar to what the twins brought home at that age many years ago. The message too was the same: check fire alarms and make an escape plan should fire break out.
There’s something neat about a child inquiring as to a safe place to gather when exiting the home or, in her case, organizing her little brother for a practice fire drill. Oddly, his biggest worry was getting his firefighter costume out.
With all the heartache that has occurred out west and even here with a multitude of home and barn fires this past winter, we hope all parents will take some time and make a safety plan. It’s also a great time of year to give everything a once-over and make sure plugs and cords are safe.
With the dry conditions this spring, extra thought should go into open air fires or even controlled burns. Common sense goes a long way, as do safe practices.
