If there is a burning ember that bears potential to torch even the best of operational plans, it’s this — what happens if people who are in harm’s way don’t hear about a threat and don’t know what to do?

That question has been raised in Kamloops following a recent crisis that left many people wondering about how the City communicates emergencies to citizens.

In May, a water main break in Rose Hill cut the water supply to more than 19,000 homes in east Kamloops. The city sent an alert to affected residents through Voyent notifying of the need to restrict water usage to allow for repairs.

Many people said they did not get the alert until the second day of the incident. By then water, had become critically low, forcing a shutdown of the system.

Kristen Rodrigue, the city’s Communications and Strategic Partnerships Director, said the city is looking into what happened and why some did not receive the alert.

“I can’t speak to this most recent water main break at this point, as we have not yet completed our debrief. The concerns have been noted and will be evaluated,” she said.

However, Rodrigue said the city would not rely on Voyent as its primary response tool in the case of a fast-moving crisis, such as a wildfire moving fast into a neighbourhood.

“In a situation where there is a sudden, life-threatening situation where there is no time to issue prior warnings, a tactical evacuation would be executed, with emergency authorities moving door-to-door through an area to notify residents,” she said.

The city would also rely on online tools, social media and the mainstream media to assist in notification as well as other on-the-ground measures, including mobile loudspeakers, and roadside advisory boards.

Tim Conrad, a crisis communications professional and owner of Butterfly Effect Communications, has worked major emergencies and disasters across British Columbia and northern Alberta since 2003.

Conrad said the challenge most municipalities face in crisis communications is the gap between believing a system is ready and having actually tested it under real conditions.  He added the right approach to notification is rooted in a simple principle.

“When I’m working large emergencies and disasters, I always have a thought in my head that nobody should be left behind. I’m always trying to think of that one person out there who doesn’t have all the things we’re using for communications.

“We need to pull out every tool in our toolbox to ensure that no person is left behind when it comes to emergencies. It’s never good enough to assume that you’ve reached everyone,” he said.

Conrad said reaching people has grown harder, even as the communications tools available have multiplied.

“I’ve been at this since 2003, and I find it harder to reach people now to get messages out than it used to be. I also find it more difficult to inform people and get them to understand the situation in front of them.

“Our media is more divided,” he said, adding that even social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as extensive and pervasive as they are, often fail to deliver accurate and timely information to people.

“There is many levels of confusion within our [society’s] communications matrix.”

Rodrigue acknowledged the same from the city’s side.

“This is a continuous challenge as the media landscape becomes more fragmented and traditional media outlets disappear,” she said, adding that the City intends to explore different communications strategies more deeply as part of an upcoming debrief.

Conrad said that while organizations and governments carry a genuine responsibility to improve, the starting point for preparation and emergency preparedness ultimately belongs to individuals. People need to take responsibility for their own situation and make sure they are aware of all that might be required of them in an emergency, including where and how they will get information.

“People really don’t understand and prepare themselves for the risks they face when it comes to potential emergencies. We need to take a closer look at that,” Conrad said. “It’s our job as individuals to be prepared for what may be thrown at us, to have at least a basic set of things in place in our lives to ensure that we can react in those moments and jump into response mode quickly.”

He added that taking proactive steps will also help alleviate stress and anxiety, such as what some people might feel as the wildfire season looms.

“Turn anxiety into action. I’ve come to realize, having had (fire) strike so close to home so many summers, that I had better just be prepared for what I’m going to call the likelihood that I’ll be asked to leave my home.”