Students at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School in Innisfail learned about "Making Safety a Habit " through a mock emergency incident held at the school on Monday.

By Sheldon Spackman

emergency preparedness

Innisfail students learn about road safety through mock incident

May 6, 2019 | 3:15 PM

“Making Safety a Habit” was the key message as local professionals responded to a mock emergency incident at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School in Innisfail on Monday.

The incident showed over 125 grade 4-7 students what happens when things go wrong for a distracted student involved in a vehicle collision while riding a bike.

Lisa Vogt, Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, says the aim is to teach students how to be safe from every day hazards.

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“It’s whether they’re at home, they’re in the playground, at school, or any activity they’re involved in,” says Vogt. “And obviously what they can do to save a life if they ever come across an incident where someone is hurt. We like to include as many kids as we can to get the safety message out to make good, safe road choices.”

Vogt says teaching kids first aid techniques is another vital aspect of the presentation.

“We’re also educating them in wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) as it relates to their activities, not just work place,” she explains. “So wearing a helmet, wearing kneepads, not being distracted while you’re doing your activities, wearing a life jacket while you’re in a canoe or boat, those types of things.”

Vogt hopes the mock incident sends students a strong message they can learn from.

“Their actions affect so many people,” she explains. “As kids get a little older, they become more independent and their parents allow them to go alone to their friend’s houses and they’re using skateboards and bikes and those things. We want to make sure that they’re making safety a habit in everyday life.”

Held during North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, Monday’s mock incident involved numerous partners, including Innisfail RCMP, Emergency Medical Technicians from HSE Integrated, and the local fire department.

Gary Leith, Innisfail Fire Chief says NAOSH week and Emergency Preparedness Week — which is also ongoing — is a chance for local families to think about what they need to do to be prepared in the event of an emergency.

“The province expects people to be prepared to look after themselves for up to 72 hours,” explains Leith. “For that, they obviously need to have food, water, a way of keeping warm and also to have a plan of where they’re going to shelter and how they’re going to shelter and to communicate that plan to the whole family.”

Following the demonstration, safety professionals presented street safety strategies to students to reinforce the message of making safe road choices.

Other organizations involved included the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA), Parkland Regional Safety Committee, Stuart Olsen Inc., and Central Alberta Chapter of Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.

(With files from Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools)