Emergency Preparedness Week runs from May 7颅 to 13, and a recent poll says the vast majority of British Columbians aren鈥檛 ready.
One 琉璃神社 woman shares her story about surviving the Ft. McMurray fires and what she wishes she鈥檇 kept in mind as the crisis unfolded.
This time last year, Holly and Behram Hashimi were on the road with their two dogs, a cat and an armful of personal items.
It wasn鈥檛 a for a cozy road trip. They were escaping an inferno that had swallowed their home, all the possessions they couldn鈥檛 carry and their sense of security.
The Hashimis, who are from 琉璃神社 but had relocated to Ft. McMurray for work, had already stopped in at the Albion Village emergency camp that had been set up to house all those who had lost their homes and Holly convinced her husband to double back to Bon Accord, the city where her friend lived.
鈥淲e left and drove through what I think an apocalypse would really look like鈥攆ire smouldering on the sides of the road, abandoned cars facing the wrong way on the side of the highway,鈥� she said.
Street lights were out, the visibility was poor and there were no other people around.
鈥淲e had half a tank of gas to get us from camp to a gas station鈥攚e stopped every time we saw an RCMP vehicle to ask if they had gas, but no one had any,鈥� she said.
They made it to Marianna lakes鈥攁round 106 km from Ft. McMurray鈥攚ith just under a quarter tank and got their first taste of the generosity and kindness that emerged often in the aftermath.
鈥淎 couple of men had jerry-cans, snacks, pet food and water. I could have cried. They gave us half a tank of gas and refused cash we offered,鈥� she said.
Friends of theirs鈥� some Holly only knew from the internet pet owner groups鈥� banded together and sent money.
鈥淔riends of friends gave us money, people we鈥檇 never met sent us money and items we would need,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were so grateful at the kindness that was displayed to us.鈥�
The systems that were thrown into place and the kindness displayed alleviated some of the needs that arose as the crisis unfolded.
The Hashimis, like 93 per cent of British Columbians recently polled by Ipsos Reid for Emergency Preparedness Week, weren鈥檛 鈥渆mergency ready.鈥�
鈥淚t is not enough for people to purchase a 72-hour emergency kit, to be really ready for any emergency, one needs to have an emergency plan, a kit of supplies, be trained to administer first aid and continue to maintain their supplies and skills for an emergency,鈥� said Karen MacPherson, CEO of St. John Ambulance British Columbia and Yukon.
They recommend that everyone in B.C. create a plan, build a kit, train in First Aid, and maintain their skills and supplies.
Holly also sees a longer view for preparedness.
鈥淢ake a list of things you would want if it was the last time you would see your home,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s I was standing in my house my mind went blank and I couldn鈥檛 figure out what to take. I never actually thought the house was going to burn. Pre-pack the stuff that would be more time-consuming to take with you.鈥�
Some things she and her husband wish they had taken but didn鈥檛 included phone chargers, ibuprofen and other medications. Important paperwork, like passports and insurance papers should be accessible.
鈥淣ow I just load everything onto Google Docs; the most important thing was our pets so make sure you have a plan with someone nearby in case you can鈥檛 get home,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 heard a few stories of people who couldn鈥檛 get home and lost their beloved animals.鈥�
Those documents helped her get a jump on what needed to be done.
鈥淭he first phone call I made when I arrived at camp after evacuation was to our insurance company,鈥� she said. 鈥淧rior to this event we didn鈥檛 even know what our coverage was. I wasn鈥檛 100 per cent sure if the house had burned down鈥ut I wanted to know if we had fire coverage.鈥�
She did, and after jumping through all the hoops she was paid out in full by her insurer. Not everybody has the same experience.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of people treated horribly by their insurers. They鈥檝e been undercut, under paid out and have had to fight the whole way,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 imagine having to deal with that on top of the additional emotional strain. I don鈥檛 know if it was because we were under-insured, but we were paid out in full by August. Some people still haven鈥檛 been paid out鈥攁lthough I do know some people are still working away on their contents list. Since we didn鈥檛 have adequate coverage, it was easy to make a list that exceeded what we were due.鈥�
