A recent state of operations report concludes the Carman/Dufferin area is not well equipped to offer a meaningful response when faced with a large-scale emergency.

Newcomer Emergency Management Operations Coordinator Jim Scott has offered this finding to the joint Protective Services Committee, outlining the greatness weakness has been an inability to recruit and retain volunteers. In the event of a serious incident, he says emergency officials could only do so much with the volunteer base currently in place.

"We could withstand a short-term emergency of some sort, like a highway closure due to weather...we could hopefully pull all hands together and shelter people for a while but if anything long-term (where to happen) we, nor most other small communities, would be able to handle it quite frankly."

Those interested in having their name on the volunteer list are encouraged to contact Scott, who says most people possess some sort of useful skill-set.

"It's not rocket science, often simple things like helping open a door at the shelter and setting up cots or something, I mean that's a valuable thing to have working for us."

He adds there are also several EMO training courses held throughout the year free of charge, noting if there is a cost associated it's likely covered by the Town/R.M.

Scott's report also found that beyond a few tables and chairs, there is virtually no equipment to properly run an Emergency Operations Centre. Among several consideration points highlighted in the report, Scott lists the immediate need for telephone lines to be installed at the Centre, something with the Town and R.M. are currently working on with MTS.

Another area of concern is the inability to connect independent power generation at the Community Hall, which would serve as the local reception centre in the case of an emergency.

"We have no way of firing up any lights inside the reception centre which could limit its use, which further means if we can't use ours...we would then be looking at evacuating people to another community if the situation was bad enough."

Scott is also asking both councils to consider connecting emergency power at a local cardlock gas station, adding that in the event of an extended power loss there'd be no way of fueling up emergency vehicles.

"They have lots of fuel in the tank but how do you get it out?"

Scott says neither council was surprised by these discoveries and explains he is currently doing additional research on the several consideration points.