IceStorm 98 Study

Bill Stevenson realized the extent of the situation when the mayor declared the state of emergency on Friday. Bill Stevenson says that his first course of action was to keep the roads open in case they needed to move fire trucks. They then set up a command post at the Fire Hall and shortly thereafter the OPP and MNR showed up (the latter on Saturday). Bill Stevenson does not recall precisely what happened when. Bill Stevenson says the power went out on Friday, three or four hours after most of the island went out, because he lives close to where the power comes onto the island -- and six days later he had his power back whereas some parts of the island were out for three weeks.

Bill Stevenson says that he worked with the township and pulled wire for the hydro workers with his crew, working as well with the volunteer ambulance crew. Bill Stevenson says his crew did not do the house-to-house checks, that was left to the ambulance crew which is mostly female. Bill Stevenson says they provided generators as they got them. A shelter was set up at the fire hall and they dispensed meals and water and other staples. Bill Stevenson says he had enough generators to run their shelter -- and after six days the village part of the island was powered up again (300-400 telephone poles were down). The mayor called the first meeting on Friday of all the major actors (fire, ambulance, roads) but Bill Stevenson did not have any specific authority delegated to him above what he was already responsible for. Joe Farish (OPP) took over running the command centre -- there were three daily meetings and the two-way radio system continued to work for Bill Stevenson and his crew.

The mayor "made sure" that the shelter and the base station (Fire Hall) had power. There was some trouble communicating with Howe Island, but the MNR people brought all kinds of communication equipment and their own base. A mobile kitchen came down from Sault St. Marie, which was able to feed people on-site as they were working. Businesses (like Kraft Food) donated food, it "come from all over" and when the crisis was over the food was sent to the food bank. Bill Stevenson says that no one challenged his authority at any time, he assumed (being fire chief) that he could make decisions regarding fires. The mayor made the big decisions and it was lucky that there were no fires or other emergencies during the ice storm. Many older people moved off the island, which also simplified their situation. Some homes did freeze up and Bill Stevenson and his crew did pump basements -- and they could not get into some homes to pump basements ....

Bill Stevenson says he only spent pocket money in the course of the storm because he did not have to rent or buy anything in the course of the emergency -- so money was not a concern, nor did it appear to be a concern for the mayor either. Bill Stevenson thinks the various materials purchased during the storm have since been paid for.

Bill Stevenson says the mayor declared that the fire hall would be the shelter and the trucks were moved to the old fire hall. The shelter only housed one couple: it was more a place for people to come and have coffee. Bill Stevenson did not find himself doing anything extraordinary in terms of authority or responsibility.

Bill Stevenson says that communications were good, that radios continued to work throughout. Bill Stevenson says that the township is now in the process of drawing up a new emergency plan which may require the purchase of new crystals for their current radio system -- an update to facilitate communication in the context of amalgamation.

Bill Stevenson says he called in all available volunteers, as well as people who could not work on their regular jobs. They were all available to help. Bill Stevenson says that Ontario Hydro reports that the volunteers cut Hydro's job in half by doing the preliminary work on the ground.

Bill Stevenson says they had all the food and drink they needed. Bell Telephone sent water and generators. The army came and cleaned brush and brought generators for farmers (2500 watt for farmers). Bill Stevenson thinks that the island got off rather easy compared to places like Van Kleek Hill. Bill Stevenson says he had a lot of volunteers -- it was like a snowball effect -- and fortunately there were no emergencies within the emergency itself.

The mayor and MNR people had maps and better preparation and organization. Whatever was needed could be had. Bill Stevenson says that his workers responded readily to everything that was asked of them. Bill Stevenson says that as long as they have power they can operate their radios -- so communication was never a problem.

Bill Stevenson left up the establishment of priorities to MNR and the mayor. They set the agenda and delegated responsibility and assigned volunteers.

Bill Stevenson says that on his end "everything worked well." No one called his performance into question -- nor can he identify anything that could have worked better from his perspective. "Everything was great here." There was a problem with parking, people parked in front of the doors, but that was the only thing. Joe Farish made sure that the doors of the fire hall were kept clear. Only two people stayed in the shelter overnight but lots of people dropped in over the course of the emergency.

Bill Stevenson says that most of the island's older people evacuated as soon as they could to friends and family on the mainland. Bill Stevenson says they spent a lot of time making sure that generators were gassed and oiled, that they could track their movement, and they were running okay. Bill Stevenson says that it's important that the generators be hooked up properly or someone could get hurt.

Bill Stevenson says he did not have a "biggest problem" -- some roads were covered with trees, but the army and township guys went out and cleared them, and then cut up the branches and chipped them.

Bill Stevenson says he would do nothing different -- but try to get the school auditorium as a shelter. But the new fire hall building worked great for them. Bill Stevenson says that they will have an emergency plan by May 1 but otherwise nothing is likely to change.

There is an effort to coordinate communication systems between Howe and Wolfe Island. Bill Stevenson says the emergency plan on Howe Island has to be updated too. Amalgamation changes everything, Bill Stevenson says.

Bill Stevenson has no emergency training -- but training relevant to his role as fire chief. He only gets $50/month for being chief of the fire department.

Bill Stevenson says the MNR provided "great help" upon their arrival Saturday morning. There was no shortage of help from the government, no lag either.

Bill Stevenson says that "he could have got more sleep." It was a lot of work pumping basements and moving generators around. He was sleep deprived but has had no post-event stress. Nor has he heard of anything from his family or co-workers. "No problem. Everything went great." The mayor simply ensured that they got everything they got, gas for the trucks, cables for the generators, and so forth.

Bill Stevenson has no insights or stories to share with us. Nor does he have any records to share with us.