When a crisis occurs in Essex County, Dan Metcalfe will answer the call.
The former paramedic was hired as the area’s new emergency management co-ordinator on Oct. 3.
“I’m thrilled to be working in this new role,” said Metcalfe. “I’m excited to be partnering with local municipalities and organizations to ensure there’s ongoing education and preparation surrounding emergency management.”
While working with Essex-Windsor EMS for more than 25 years, Metcalfe served on a number of safety committees, volunteered with the county emergency team and participated in training exercises with the OPP and Canadian Coast Guard.
He said his new role will involve identifying hazards, completing risk analyses, overseeing emergency exercises and planning, and organizing response groups.
“It’s a lot of collaboration and networking before things happen,” he said. “We need to know the faces and the people we need to talk to when a storm hits us and we need to know everybody around the table, which will make it easier to solve problems.”
Metcalfe said the recent tornado that ripped through parks of LaSalle and Windsor and last month’s flooding, which swamped thousands of basements, show the added urgency and challenges of his new role.
“Now these hundred-year events are happening on shorter timelines,” he said. “But it’s an exciting time for emergency preparedness — the alerting tools are getting better all the time.”
Among Metcalfe’s primary concerns will be ensuring that in the event of a disaster, the county’s important trade route won’t be compromised.
“With the huge border crossing and shipping through the Detroit River, we’ve got a potentially great economic impact if the roads or marine routes are affected — we’re talking billions of dollars,” he said.
Metcalfe said every person in Essex County can play a part in making the area safer by putting together an emergency kit.
“Sometimes the first people who do rescues are your neighbours,” he said. “We saw that in the tornado, we saw that in the flooding, so it’s important for people to be prepared. It’s not a matter of if, but when something will happen.”
