Stratford natural gas leak january 2014

211 Central East Ontario Stratford Natural Gas Leak – January 27th, 2014 Post Disaster Response Brief

Photo courtesy of the Stratford Beacon Herald - www.stratfordbeaconherald.com

Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario 275 First Street, Collingwood, ON Admin: 705.444.0040 x 234 www.CommunityConnection.ca www.211Ontario.ca

City of Stratford Natural Gas Leak – January 2014 Post Disaster Response Brief Role of 211 The telephone number 2-1-1 is recognized as the front door to government-funded and community-based human services in Ontario. 211 service providers help people navigate the complex network of human services quickly and easily, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in over 150 languages.

For emergency responders and managers, 211 provides a channel for authoritative information to the public about anything relevant to the emergency that does not require police, fire or ambulance, such as the location of emergency shelters, where to get basic supplies and how to donate goods. This helps to alleviate the non-emergency calls that go to 911 and other municipal phone lines.

As part of the 211 Ontario Network, Community Connection in Collingwood provides 211 services to eleven counties and districts in the Central East Region, which includes the County of Perth.

Event Background On Monday January 27th, 2014 at approximately 1 p.m., a natural gas leak was detected in the City of Stratford in Perth County. The City and its agencies worked with Union Gas to deal with the leak in the vicinity of King and Brunswick Street.

Over 90 households in the affected area were notified of the gas leak and advised the supply of natural gas had been discontinued. Several homes were evacuated as a precaution. The temperature was -20C that night with a wind chill below -30C causing additional concern for households with no heat source.

Communication In the mid-afternoon on January 27th Community Connection/211 was contacted by Heather Lovie, Ontario Works Manager with the City of Stratford to advise of the event and to confirm 211 was available for public inquiry support.

Within one hour, Community Connection/211 had received emails with media releases and tip sheets from Festival Hydro, Perth District Health Unit, and Union Gas on topics such as keeping warm at home, water usage, using electric heaters, and returning home after an emergency.

Community Connection/211 staff continued to monitor websites and local media including radio stations and online newspapers.

Public Inquiry During the event, 211 answered a total of 19 calls related to the gas leak. 13 calls came in during the evening and overnight, and 6 calls were received the following day, January 28th.

Most callers were inquiring when their gas would be turned back on. One caller could smell gas and was wanting to know what to do.

Published by Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario (www.CommunityConnection.ca)

2

City of Stratford Natural Gas Leak – January 2014 Post Disaster Response Brief Sample Media Releases and News Stories THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF STRATFORD City Hall, 1 Wellington Street Stratford, ON N5A 6W1 519-271-0250 519-271-2783 (fax) MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release

Natural Gas Leak – King Street and Brunswick Street Vicinity Stratford, Ontario, January 27, 2014 The City of Stratford and its agencies are currently working with Union Gas to deal with a natural gas leak in the vicinity of King and Brunswick Street. Every effort is being made to control and resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The most recent estimate from Union Gas is late tonight.

Residents within the affected area have been notified of the gas leak. Specifically, the supply of natural gas to homes in this area has been discontinued until this gas leak has been corrected. If the home depends upon natural gas as its source of heat, residents are advised to make the following arrangements: If the temperature in the home goes below 10°C the water tap should be turned on to prevent freezing of the water pipes. The water stream should be the width of a pencil and should be kept on until either the water is shut off or the temperature rises above 10°C. You can consider using a small electrical heater to provide some warmth to your home during what is expected to be a very cold night.

The expected low is forecast to be -23°C with a wind chill of -31°C. (See attached info from Festival Hydro Inc. regarding electric heaters).

Union Gas will turn off the supply of gas to all homes affected by the disruption. They have advised us of the following: Union Gas will be shutting off the gas to each home in the affected area.

They will be going door to door to turn it back on.

They will be going to each residence to ensure that all appliances are turned on and working properly.

They are sending out a message and will be personally calling every resident.

If residents within the affected area do not hear from Union Gas or will not be at home, please call 1-877-969-0999 to make arrangements to turn the gas back on safely once natural gas to the area has been restored.

Further information can be obtained by going to the City of Stratford website at www.stratfordcanada.ca or simply dialling 211 from your phone. 211 is staffed 24 hours per day.

With regard to making arrangements for tonight, there are three options: A Warming Centre has been set up at the Kiwanis Community Centre located at 111 Lakeside Drive.

Residents can stay in their homes but are asked that they pay close attention to the attached information from the Perth District Health Unit.

Find alternate accommodations.

See attached fact sheets from the Perth District Health Unit that will assist in your planning: Tips for Keeping Warm at Home Returning Home After an Emergency Please do not attempt to use any gas barbeques in your house or garage. They should only be used in well ventilated areas.

- 30 -

Published by Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario (www.CommunityConnection.ca)

3

City of Stratford Natural Gas Leak – January 2014 Post Disaster Response Brief Sample Media Releases and News Stories

Published by Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario (www.CommunityConnection.ca)

4

City of Stratford Natural Gas Leak – January 2014 Post Disaster Response Brief Sample Media Releases and News Stories

Published by Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario (www.CommunityConnection.ca)

5

In Ontario: 211 Service – Every Day and During Emergency Response and Recovery Preamble The 211 information and referral service is standards driven. Providers of 211 services are accredited by the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS). The goal is for 211 to be the first and best place for everyone in Ontario to find, connect to and communicate with human services by phone and online. In the event of an incident, 211 service is available as a public information line and to complement the community’s existing capacity.

Public Inquiry • 211 service organizations provide and receive information • 211 is an easy to remember phone number for live answer, multilingual information and referral about community, health and social services 24/7/365 • The assessment and referrals provided to residents and service providers is confidential, and can help people find services they didn’t know existed or are more appropriate for their circumstance • Includes TTY and email channels • Monitors news and social media and posts facts or notices to call 211 or visit specified websites for information and rumour control • Develops and retains relationships with municipal and other social services including those that respond to incidents including local branches of Red Cross, Victim Services, Salvation Army, St John Ambulance and the SPCA to complement their services • Able to establish a public access point in reception and/or evacuation centres to provide in-person information and/or referrals to both residents and service providers Specialized Online Database • 211 service providers collectively maintain a comprehensive, current database of 56,000 human services agencies and programs • 211 providers maintain local inventories of disaster services and information that is continually updated throughout the recovery period after an incident • Able to deploy local information websites for public to access in real-time, for current information about post incident services including shelters, food and meals, schools, halls, pharmacies, banks and cash machines, laundromats, etc.

• Collects pre-determined or customized details about people who want to volunteer, including their skills and equipment, following an incident, making the information available in real-time to designated contacts or organizations utilizing volunteers. Works with volunteer centres where they exist to provide volunteer brokerage services when directed •Collects pre-determined or customized details about goods and services donated by individuals, governments, businesses or organizations and makes information available in real-time to designated contacts or provides goods and services brokerage services when directed • Maintains up-to-date lists of where and how cash donations can be made • Able to support case management for vulnerable population fan out procedures working with agencies such as Public Health, CCACs and/or Mental Health Services to support the creation of an inventory of people facing mobility barriers, are isolated or need key health services such as dialysis Caller Needs and Trends Reporting • Using predetermined or customized collection details, 211 providers monitor calls, TTY, social media and email contacts to track changing service needs, unmet needs, service gaps and trends • 211 providers can produce real-time and/or after-action reports with aggregated data to support information useful to municipalities and other levels of government Contact: Pamela Hillier, Executive Director, Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario phillier@communityconnection.ca