Kudos for cooperative effort

It could have been an even scarier scene than it was when a sprinkler pipe burst recently at Valley Regional Hospital had it not been for a timely emergency response.

There wasn’t much anyone could do about the resulting flood, which has closed off the entire main lobby of the facility while a costly and time-consuming clean-up takes place – an effort that’s still ongoing while the hospital continues to operate around it.

But the fact that emergency response personnel and equipment arrived so quickly and had the worst part of the flood cleared up within a couple of hours had to make things easier and a lot less stressful for patients and hospital staff.

Firefighters and equipment from at least four local fire departments responded to the scene, as well as the joint emergency response team from the Kentville, New Minas and Wolfville departments.

In addition, a fleet of EMC ambulances responded also and was on-scene warmed up and ready to go due to the real possibility all or part of the hospital might have to be evacuated.

Among other things, the emergency personnel brought pumps for cleaning up the water, mobile lighting (the power had to be turned off in the flooded area) and even helped deliver the suppertime meal to the hospital’s in-patients.

The sheer scope, and promptness, of the response was appreciated by hospital staff. Annapolis Valley Health spokesperson Jan MacKinnon summed it up when she suggested, “we had a real feeing we weren’t in this alone.”

A lot of the time we take our emergency response personnel for granted, expecting they will simply be there when the need arises and everything will be ready for them to use while overlooking the effort it takes to be fully prepared.

We also shouldn’t forget that many of the people who provide these services are volunteers. They not only take the time to respond during emergency situations, but also take the additional time to ensure their emergency response is ready to go when needed.

A crucial part of emergency response in rural areas like this is the mutual aid system, a Nova Scotia success story begun right here in the Valley almost 60 years ago.

Not only are personnel and equipment from adjacent communities available at literally a moment’s notice, but the Kentville, New Minas and Wolfville departments also cooperate in rope rescue, boat rescue and hazardous materials teams as well as emergency response, requiring even more tutorial and practice time.

The cooperation between firefighters, law enforcement officers, ambulance drivers, dispatchers and emergency preparedness officials is evident in larger urban areas as well, which needless to say face different challenges as well as some of the same.

The response in more rural areas, however, seems more personal in scope, in large part due to the volunteer presence. It provides us with a real sense of security in times of emergency, trouble and stress, and definitely should never be taken for granted.