Coordination during emergency activations
Provincial emergency coordination centres and provincial regional emergency operations centres can be activated to coordinate an emergency response.
Provincial regional emergency operations centre (PREOC)
During emergencies, Indigenous and local governments lead local responses. If the emergency is beyond their capacity, PREOCs can be activated in support.
They are staffed with emergency management professionals and assist Indigenous and local governments with response planning, coordination and logistics.
There are six PREOCs in B.C., one in each EMBC region (PDF, 279 KB).
Provincial emergency coordination centre (PECC)
If more than one PREOC is opened or it is deemed operationally necessary, the PECC at EMBC headquarters in Victoria can also be opened to provide support. The PECC:
- Coordinates resources and communications
- Requests assistance from the provincial government, and
- Contacts other provinces or the federal government for support
Surge capacity staff
EMBC has operational employees to respond to emergencies at any given time. During a provincial response to an emergency we often require additional trained government staff, drawn from other ministries to assist local authorities, First Nations, and other government agencies. This program is called TEAMS.
TEAMS members can be requested on short notice for deployment to the PECC or PREOCs for varying lengths of time (up to 10 days). Mandatory and developmental training for TEAMS members is coordinated by EMBC and is typically scheduled outside of freshet/flooding and wildfire seasons each year.
