LETTER: ‘It should not take a Deputy Fire Chief to tell the police when to activate the sirens’

Dear Editor: In a recent Sarnia Journal article, “Brutal storm categorized as an EF0 downburst in Sarnia/Point Edward,” it was reported that the Sarnia Emergency Planner’s position was declared redundant […]

Dear Editor:

In a recent Sarnia Journal article, “Brutal storm categorized as an EF0 downburst in Sarnia/Point Edward,” it was reported that the Sarnia Emergency Planner’s position was declared redundant and that his duties would be turned over to a yet-to-be appointed Deputy Fire Chief.

The article related that one of those duties would be to instruct the police when to activate the sirens.

For years, the Sarnia Police Service have been one of the cornerstones of emergency response notification from the days of the DEW Line sirens to those of the present.

The police service is staffed around the clock and at one time, all supervisors were trained in siren activation and community notification.

Emergency response is one of the core elements of policing.

It should not take a Deputy Fire Chief to tell the police when to activate the sirens.

Had death or injury occurred, I doubt that an inquiry into why the sirens were not set off would be favourable to those in authority.

Phil Nelson

Sarnia