Saint John had no shortage of serious incidents to deal with in 2018.
First, there was the butane leak on the east side in January, followed by record-breaking spring flooding, and an explosion at the Irving Oil refinery in October.
In a year-end interview, Mayor Don Darling said he feels the city responded well to these “unscripted” events.
“At the same time, I would tell you that it is in my DNA that if I did something great yesterday, I would wake up wanting to do it better tomorrow,” Darling said.
Improved Communications
One of the things the mayor thinks the city can improve on is its communication with residents during emergencies.
It was an hour after the refinery explosion before the city posted any official communications on its social media channels.
“People were scared, and when they’re scared, gaps of communication of 20, 30, 40 minutes can seem like days in this world that we live on,” Darling said, referring to the immediate communication society now expects to see.
“There are folks that said we did a phenomenal job and there are folks [that said] we did an absolutely terrible job. Neither one is right or wrong.”
Emergency Preparedness Plans
Darling said there is also room to improve the city’s emergency preparedness plans with industry.
“There are very few cities in North America that have oil refineries and liquefied natural gas plants and pulp mills and metal shredding facilities all in the middle of the city,” he said.
Darling said he was proud to see residents and strangers come together to help one another following each incident.
“It didn’t surprise me but it melted my heart,” he said.
“It’s what we do as Canadians, as New Brunswickers. Saint Johners, in particular, are incredibly, incredibly generous and gracious and kind and caring.”
Story by Brad Perry
Twitter: @BradMPerry
Email: perry.brad@radioabl.ca
(Photo: Joe Comeau/submitted)
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