Critical infrastructure failure places second in Penetanguishene risk assessment
Penetanguishene residents have experienced community risk over the past year, and an assessment report on the topic has now been formalized for town council and the public.
The community risk assessment was due prior to July as a provincial regulation for all municipalities, having looked at the municipality from a fire services perspective to grade which are the most likely threats currently and for the future, as well as options for prevention.
For Penetanguishene, the community risk assessment was conducted by the Loomex Group with Grace McDonough presenting a slideshow overview at this week's council meeting.
“After a municipality learns which fire and life safety risks it is most likely to face, it can determine how to manage those risks,” said McDonough. “If an emergency occurs and a community has not established adequate response protocols, the consequences could include damaged property, tarnished reputations, and lost lives.”
A partial collapse of a century-old building at 78 Main Street last year with no fatalities but displaced residents resulted in demolition of the structure, with the community being praised for its quick response to the crisis.
Nine public safety risks were identified within the CRA, as ranked from highest to lowest. Severe weather incidents topped the list (120) with critical infrastructure failure placing second (96) in the high risk category.
For each item, McDonough provided recommendations for a risk treatment plan, financial implications, and a timeline for implementation.
“The risk treatment plan (for critical infrastructure failure) is to mitigate and to share,” explained McDonough. “Provide public education about the importance of having a 72-hour emergency kit, and continuing to offer applicable services as required. Share that risk by continuing to work with the authorities responsible for the critical infrastructure in Penetanguishene.
“This is recognizing that not all critical infrastructure in Penetanguishene may be the responsibility of the town of Penetanguishene,” McDonough pointed out.
“The financial implications are that it should not likely cause an immediate financial impact; however, if there is a critical infrastructure failure that affects any of the critical infrastructure owned by the town of Penetanguishene, the town may incur significant repair costs. The department should incorporate these strategies into the risk treatment plan into its regular operations.”
Previously, Mayor Doug Rawson informed MidlandToday that the municipality didn’t have jurisdiction over privately-owned buildings, noting they were “the building owner’s responsibility”.
For moderate risks, the six items were human health emergency (90), fire in residential (84) and vulnerable (84) occupancy, road/highway incident (72), fire in assembly occupancy (70) and fire/explosion in industrial occupancy (68).
McDonough pointed out the fire/explosion in industrial occupancy item with a particular note of interest.
“There are 74 industrial occupancies listed in the town of Penetanguishene, and there has only been seven inspections done on those occupancies in the last five years; certainly taking COVID-19 into consideration, so there would not have been very many inspections possible in 2019 or 2020,” stated McDonough. She suggested that a fire prevention policy to inspect those occupancies regularly could be implemented along with a record trail for documentation.
Fire in commercial occupancy (42) concluded the top risks, as the sole low risk entry. McDonough also shared that lightweight construction materials would be notable to track for future inspections due to their higher fire risk in residential and some commercial homes.
Upon conclusion of the presentation, members of Penetanguishene council thanked McDonough and the Loomex Group with no questions asked before continuing on to the remainder of the agenda.
The community risk assessment from the Loomex Group can be located on the agenda page of the Town of Penetanguishene website.
Meetings of Penetanguishene council are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and can be watched live on Rogers TV cable 53 when available, or on the Rogers TV website.
Archives of council meetings are located on the Town of Penetanguishene YouTube channel.
Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, MidlandToday.ca
