Council Approves Disaster Simulation Theatre

Saint John firefighters will soon be better trained to respond to different incidents and disasters.

Council has given the go-ahead for a $631,000 disaster simulation theatre in the Leinster Street fire station.

It will be built in the office space adjacent to the Emergency Operations Centre.

The technology, known as the Advanced Disaster Management Simulator (ADMS), will provide “highly-effective training for relevant scenarios,” according to a staff report to council.

That includes threats to public facilities like the City Market, City Hall, hospitals, schools, high-rise properties, nursing homes, and public assembly events like the night market, TD Station and Imperial Theatre.

“The simulation theatre project will address many of the gaps that we have today in our emergency planning preparation and needs. We felt those over the last five years in our large-scale activations,” said Kevin Clifford, the city’s fire chief, during a recent council meeting.

Saint John EMO and other first responders have dealt with several emergency incidents in recent years, including an explosion at the Irving Oil refinery, a butane leak on the east side, historic spring flooding, and high-rise apartment building evacuations due to wind damage.

These events “have pushed this community to the limit,” according to the staff report.

It said there are several advantages to the ADMS, including lower operational and training costs, the ability to train anytime without disruption to daily operations, and being able to train more people for more incidents more frequently.

Coun. Blake Armstrong raised concerns about spending this kind of money when the city is looking to close a $10-million deficit in 2021 and 2022.

“We are again, in my mind, subsidising heavy industry. I don’t know how many other cities with 67,000 people have a simulator, but they certainly don’t have the heavy industry that you train your men for each and every day,” said Armstrong.

But Clifford said industry will be paying for the entire cost of the simulator — and then some.

Council recently approved a new 10-year agreement with NB Power to provide backup emergency response to the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. The agreement is worth nearly $1.49 million.

Clifford said they also expect to bring in revenue by offering the use of the simulator to industry partners and other fire departments.

“We are modest in our projection that we believe we will attain, at minimum, $100,000 a year in new revenue through the delivery of this specialized piece of equipment. There’s nothing like it in Eastern Canada,” he said.

There is no word on when the simulator will be up and running.