Canada Task Force 2 sharpen their skills in a three-day exercise

This week over fifty members of Canada Task Force 2 (CAN-TF2) from all over Southern Alberta participated in a three-day exercise that simulated a swarm of tornados impacting a town, damaging and destroying residences and businesses. Tornados are considered a high risk to Alberta, as they occur frequently and can cause serious damage.

“The purpose of the exercise is to set up and run a self-sufficient base of operations, and to test our search, rescue and medical skills. The CAN-TF2 team can be deployed anywhere in Alberta, and exercises of this nature help keep our volunteers’ skills sharp so they can respond quickly in an emergency or disaster,” says Calgary’s Emergency Management Agency’s Deputy Chief Sue Henry.

 The exercise occurred Tuesday to Thursday on the Stampede grounds, which served to simulate a town in Alberta. The team focused on urban search and rescue skills and logistics. CAN-TF2 volunteers practiced the deployment activities of setting up accommodation, food, power generation and sanitation.

CAN-TF2 took all the steps they normally would when responding to an emergency or disaster. “Disasters and emergencies are becoming more frequent and we need to be ready to go when the call comes in.” said Deputy Chief Sue Henry.

CAN-TF2 is a disaster response team that can be deployed any time for any number of emergencies or disasters. This team has also attended exercises in both Virginia and Indiana. This exercise built on the skills gained in those previous exercises, but also gave the team the ability to develop technical skills that haven’t been worked on, including objectives with a long-term focus.