More than a year after a massive chemical fire at Port Metro Vancouver, the city says it’s working on an “emergency call-out system” that will notify key facilities in the event of an emergency.
The 2015 fire started in one container, but spread quickly. It burned for more than 24 hours, prompting a Hazmat response, the evacuation of nearby buildings and the shutdown of the busy port. Trichloroisocyanuric acid, a bleaching agent and industrial disinfectant, burned for over an hour, sending toxic fumes into the air.
In the months that followed, city staff reported to council with recommendations on how communication during serious incidents could be improved.
A spokesperson with the city of Vancouver said it is in the final stages of establishing “an emergency call-out system which will be utilized to rapidly inform key facilities such as schools and community centres during an emergency such as the Port fire.”
The system would not be used to alert the general public, but to notify “key vulnerable facilities” via telephone, email, text message and other channels.
More information about the system will be released once it’s finalized and in place.
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