MINUTES
THE HILLS SHIRE
LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
MONDAY 6
thMARCH 2017 COMMENCING AT 1.00PM
THE HILLS SHIRE COUNCIL
3 COLUMBIA COURT, BAULKHAM HILLS (NEXT TO NOVOTEL HOTEL)
COMMUNITY MEETING ROOMS 1 & 2
All correspondence to be addressed to the:
Local Emergency Management Officer
The Hills Shire Council, PO Box 7046, Baulkham Hills BC 2153 Telephone: (02) 9843 0205 Fax: (02) 9843 0409
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS/OBSERVERS
The Chair welcomed Martin Horwood from the Greater Sydney Local Land Services to his first meeting.
Michael Lathlean (The Hills Shire Council – Chair, LEMO) Steve Coleman (The Hills Shire Council – Alt. LEMO) Rob Critchlow (NSW Police Force – LEOCON)
Jamie Horsfield (REMO) Phil Bow (Rural Fire Service) Alex Scott (Fire & Rescue NSW)
Martin Horwood (Greater Sydney Local Land Services)
Caren Friend (Western Sydney Local Health District Counter Disaster Unit) Jonathon Pallot (Endeavour Energy)
Hank Geerdink (Healthscope Norwest Private Hospital) Heather Gwilliam (Anglicare)
Diane Anderson (St Johns Ambulance) Dave Wood (Castle Hill RSL Club Ltd) Craig Samuel (Transurban)
Ciaran O’Reilly (Transurban)
2. APOLOGIES
Steve Egginton (NSW Police Force) Evelyn Lester (State Emergency Service) David Screen (Metro Trains Sydney) Pat Hobday (Transurban)
3. LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP LIST
The list of the Committee’s current members and observers will be circulated at the meeting for updating.
4. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 7th NOVEMBER 2016
A copy of the Minutes was attached to the Agenda.
Resolved: The Committee adopt the Minutes of the LEMC Meeting of 7th November 2016.
Moved by Rob Critchlow and Seconded by Alex Scott
5. OUTSTANDING MATTERS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING No matters outstanding
6. REGIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
The Regional Emergency Management Committee (REMC) meeting was held on Friday 24th February 2017 at the RAAF base at Richmond.
The Chair and REMO provided a verbal report to members on various matters discussed at or arising from the meeting. One of those issues was the loss of power in the Blue Mountains during recent heatwave conditions that had the potential to create significant issues for vulnerable members of that community.
Resolved: The verbal report from the Chair and REMO be received.
Moved by Michael Lathlean and Seconded by Phil Bow
7. AUSTRALIA DAY 2016
Council’s annual Australia Day celebrations were held at Bella Vista Farm Park on Thursday 26th January 2017.
Once again members and observers of the Committee and their respective organisations participated in an Emergency Expo which was conducted as part of the festivities.
Fortunately the weather was overcast but fine and as a result it was estimated by Council’s Events Team that over 30,000 people visited the Farm Park to join in the celebrations. No doubt because of the visitor numbers and the Expos location right at the main entrance gate, there was plenty of interest shown in the various emergency service exhibitions and equipment throughout the day.
Although Fire & Rescue’s Castle Hill Unit 71 was called away to incidents on two occasions during the day, they had a spare crewman who was left at the Farm Park to look after their display.
On behalf of the Committee the Chair has thanked the various organisations for their attendance and participation. If not done so already, Council will be distributing Certificates of Appreciation to each of the organisations that attended.
Resolved: The information be received.
Moved by Rob Critchlow and Seconded by Phil Bow
8. FURTHER UPDATE OF EMPLAN AND CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMENT GUIDES At its meeting on 7th November 2016 the Committee noted that the EMPLAN had been endorsed by the REOCON on behalf of the REMC.
The Committee will recall that the adopted EMPLAN was based on the boundaries of The Hills Shire that were in place prior to the NSW Government’s boundary changes that occurred on 12th May 2016. As a result, it was always the intention to amend the EMPLAN and CMGs to reflect those boundary changes.
These amendments have now been made and are submitted to the Committee for endorsement. The REMO has indicated that the EMPLAN does not have to be re- submitted to the REMC for its endorsement.
Resolved: The Committee endorse the amendments to the EMPLAN to reflect the changes to the boundaries of The Hills Shire following the NSW Government’s proclamation of 12 May 2016.
Moved by Michael Lathlean and Seconded by Phil Bow
9. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS SYSTEM (EMOS) UPDATE
Phase 2 of the EMOS has been released into live production. It includes a new task management module, a notification engine, digital templates for key operational EOC reports, dashboards for electronic display, a new and improved Common Operating Picture with basic drawing and planning tools, and a report and search function.
A ‘Quick Guide’ suite has been made available that outlines how to use the new functionality and is available on the EMOS document library.
To support the implementation of the EMOS, the Office of Emergency management will be undertaking a number of activities including:
Super Users – a number of Super Users will be identified and trained to assist EMOs with implementing Phase 2 of EMOS into their EOC operating procedures and training stakeholders
On-line training – in the first half of 2017, OEM will be developing an online learning module to support training in EMOS
Emergency Operations Concepts Course (EOCC) – is currently under review and will incorporate an introduction to EMOS.
The Chair advised that once training is organised he will notify all members who may be interested in attending. He also advised that he was looking at training his Team’s new Administrative Support Officer with a view to her becoming a
‘super user’ which would remove some of the burden from himself and other team members during an emergency operation.
The REMO advised that he would provide a demonstration of the system at the next LEMC meeting.
Resolved: The information be received.
Moved by Phil Bow and Seconded by Alex Scott
10. TRAINING
As members and observers are reminded at all LEMC meetings, details on all emergency management training courses can be found on the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services website www.mpes.nsw.gov.au. Nominations for attendance at any of the courses can also be made through the website.
Resolved: The information on training be received.
Moved by Rob Critchlow and Seconded by Michael Lathlean
11. SES STORM OPERATION FROM SATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2017
The LEMO provided a verbal report on this storm operation which primarily affected residential properties in Rouse Hill, Beaumont Hills and parts of Kellyville and Glenhaven. To date the SES and other emergency services had dealt with well over 1000 jobs and following the recent rain, they were still operational responding to calls for assistance from residents who didn’t realise that their roof had been damaged during the initial response period.
The Chair advised that although the SES Controller was a last minute apology because of the ongoing operation, she had asked that the Minutes of the meeting record her appreciation for the assistance provided by the volunteers of the rural Fire Service and personnel from Fire & Rescue NSW.
At the peak of the operation there were around 40 SES teams from around the State, 14 RFS teams from around the metropolitan area, and five Fire & Rescue strike teams with up to 20 different appliances and support units. Valuable support was also provided by the Police, Council and the LEMO.
Some interesting elements to the operation included:
most of the homes affected ranged in age from about 15 years old to literally brand new;
the demographics of the area suggested that not a large number of older or socially disadvantaged residents were affected by the event meaning that most properties were insured and many residents were able to assist in securing their properties;
because of the age of the homes there were no major issues with asbestos;
most homes in the area were two storeys in height which created roof access issues for emergency service volunteers and personnel;
many of the homes in the newer areas affected had colorbond roofing which meant that they did not necessarily require immediate assistance, however unlike tiled roofed houses where individual damaged tiles could be replaced, all of the colorbond roof sheets will need to be replaced;
many of the homes had solar panels on their roofs which also created access issues for emergency service volunteers and personnel;
although it is understandable that insurers will take some time to process claims and undertake repairs, the LEMO is unaware at this stage of any complaints from residents about the delays which might necessitate the establishment of a Recovery Committee.
Phil Bow raised an issue encountered during the operation with a house containing some very significant medical equipment used by a family member. He asked about how we can manage vulnerable residents to ensure that they receive a higher priority during the response phase of an operation. It was suggested that if there was another major event of this nature, then the most appropriate response would be to contact the Committee’s health representative who can use her networks in order to try and identify any vulnerable residents in the area.
Resolved: The reports on the storm operation be received.
Moved by Alex Scott and Seconded by Phil Bow
12. REPORTS FROM MEMBER AND OBSERVOR ORGANISATIONS REMO
nothing to report NSW Police Force
acknowledged success of recent community engagement events such as Australia Day
Fire and Rescue NSW
five strike teams provided assistance to SES during the recent fires
new Commissioner will be commencing in April
training facility has now moved from Alexandria to Erskine Park
new corporate office has opened at Greenacre Rural Fire Service
strike teams provided to assist with recent fires in the Hunter and central West
teams provided from both local area and the metropolitan area to assist with recent storm response
Endeavour Energy
nothing to report
Greater Sydney Local Land Services
no recent emergencies
currently an alert out for a tomato-potato psyllid which is a threat to tomato, potato and capsicum crops
Hills Private Hospital
hospital extensions recently completed Western Sydney Local Health District
recent heatwave has had a significant impact on the health district, not only in terms of patient numbers and care, but on operation of hospital facilities
upcoming emergency exercise planned for both Westmead and children’s hospital
Tollaust Pty Limited
work proceeding on Northconnex project with tunnelling and M2 widening works
some night time east bound off-ramp closures onto Pennant Hills Rd with traffic being diverted along Windsor Rd, Old Northern Rd and Castle Hill Rd St John Ambulance
nothing to report Anglicare
recently on alerts with both fires and flooding Castle Hill RSL
nothing to report
Resolved: The reports be received.
Moved by Phil Bow and Seconded by Alex Scott
13. LEMO LEAVE
The LEMO will be on leave interstate from Thursday 9th March until Sunday 26th March inclusive. During that period Steve Coleman will be the Acting LEMO. Steve can be contacted on 9843 0221 (BH) or 0402 333 110 (M) or [email protected].
Recommendation: The advice on the LEMO’s leave be noted.
Moved by Rob Critchlow and Seconded by Phil Bow
14. GENERAL BUSINESS
REMO advised that state heatwave Plan was currently out for review. One of the likely outcomes was that future activations would be on a regional rather than state wide basis.
15. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Local Emergency Management Committee will be held on Monday 3th July 2017 at the Council Administration Centre commencing at 1.00pm and preceded by lunch at 12.30pm.
