Q2 | June 2021
ERAC Q2 2021 Newsletter
President's Message

In our commitment to keeping our Plan Participant members, responders, stakeholders, and team safe, I would like to acknowledge the sometimes-unspoken reality that stress and fatigue play a critical part in responding to emergencies or within our daily lives. As optimism grows for a return to ‘normal’, we need to be mindful and respect each other as we push through some of the challenges brought on by the pandemic. I know that we are looking forward to returning to the office and I am sure you are too.

I am happy to share that our new warehouse officially opened last month. With approximately 4,000 square feet of space, we can store our equipment and trailers efficiently and safely.

Announcements

Welcome

ERAC welcomed two new team members to the Calgary office, Sarah Healey, Administrative Assistant, Process Services, and Braden Stafford, Emergency Management Advisor. Sarah will support the Process Services team, while Braden will support the Emergency Response Planning team.

ERAC Board of Directors Changes

ERAC (LPGERC)'s AGM took place in June and changes to the board were approved at the Canadian Propane Association (CPA) Board of Directors meeting.

Todd Temple of Kiros Energy has stepped forward as chair of the ERAC Board of Directors for 2021-22, and Jonathan Schindlbeck of Suncor Energy has moved into the role of vice-chair.

Thank you to Trish Adams from Pembina Pipeline for her work as Board chair the past year as she moves into her current role as past chair.

We would also like to welcome Rod Pertson from Keyera Corp. and Michael De Paoli from AltaGas Ltd. as the newest Directors on the ERAC Board.

Response Teams

Spartan Response in Stoney Creek, ON joined ERAC as a flammable liquids response team last year. Due to COVID-19, and travel and safety considerations over the past several months, we were unable to assess the response team and equipment at that time.

We are happy to say that ERAC was able to successfully complete their regional training and assessment with a live product transfer in March 2021. Spartan Response has now been added to the call-out list.

Retiring Responders

We bid farewell to retiring RMA and response team leader, John Frankruyter. With 17 years of service with ERAC, John was well-known throughout Ontario as a reliable source of information and best practices for emergency propane transfers. He was a patient mentor to new responders, always taking the time to make sure they were comfortable and confident in what they were doing; all team members appreciated and admired his leadership.
ERAC launched new Plan Participant Portal

We are excited to have officially launched ERAC’s Plan Participant Portal, a one-stop shop that is an efficient way to:

  • Access all emergency response plans, documents, and correspondence,
  • Receive real-time information on incidents supported by ERAC, and
  • Identify and locate emergency response resources across Canada.
Training & Events

We've completed several regional training and assessment events with our response teams so far this year, however, due to the ever-changing environment with COVID-19, many regional training and assessments will be rescheduled to the Fall.

Our Operations team is looking forward to getting back out in the field.
In the Spotlight: Pat Mason, RMA

Pat Mason has been a remedial measures advisor with ERAC for the past 29 years!

Pat started out in the LPG industry back in 1978 as a driver and heavy-duty mechanic in northern BC. Part of his duties became running the LPG pumping unit under the LPG Mutual Aid Plan and working truck and rail incidents. In 1985, Pat moved to a large gas plant in Taylor, BC and worked his way up through the operational and management ranks.
Transport Canada's EOS and Adding ERAC as a Delegated ERAP Writer

ERAC continues to assist our Plan Participants with transitioning to Transport Canada’s web-based system called ERAP Online Services (EOS). If you have not completed this process, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. This process populates your ERAP information online, moving away from the paper-based system to an online environment.
Incident Command System (ICS) Training

ERAC offers ICS 100 and 200 through our learning management system, Workhub. For our Plan Participant members, response team network and first responders, this course is free.
 
ICS 200 instructor-led (ICS Canada-approved) sessions will resume in the Fall. The week of October 18, 2021 has tentatively been booked. Stay tuned for confirmed dates.
 
ICS is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective.
ERAC Key Performance Indicators

Arrival Time by Responder Type
Tier 1 Implementations By Type
Tier 2 Implementations by Type
Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC) | 587-349-5880 | info@erac.org | erac.org