Successful simulated emergency reception centre exercise at university’s north Oshawa location

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College play an important role in Durham Region’s emergency preparedness plan. The university’s and college’s shared campus location in north Oshawa has been set up as one of several emergency reception centres throughout the region. In the extremely unlikely event of a nuclear emergency, these reception centres would allow Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the City of Oshawa and Durham Region Emergency Social Services to provide community members with access to emergency services such as:

Durham Region co-ordinates emergency preparedness exercises on a regular basis to reinforce the safety practices it has in place to protect its residents. On June 20, the university and college participated in a simulated emergency exercise to practise the opening and operation of an emergency reception centre on campus. More than 300 community members and five canine participants were involved in the exercise.

Partner organizations for this regular exercise included OPG, City of Oshawa, Canadian Red Cross, Salvation Army, St. John Ambulance, Durham Regional Police Service, Victim Services of Durham Region, the Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team and Oshawa Animal Services.

Learn more about emergency preparedness at durham.ca/demo.