GUELPH, ON – June 28, 2019 – Beginning June 26, 2019, the Feather Board Command Center (FBCC), in concert with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Ontario Area Response Team Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), hosted a three-day Disease Outbreak Response Simulation using the internationally-recognized Incident Management System (IMS) model. The exercise, hosted in Guelph, Ontario, included participants from all four feather boards.
The Outbreak Response Simulation is part of ongoing and regular training for poultry industry stakeholders to ensure quick and effective response to emergency situations including federally reportable disease outbreaks. The feather boards and stakeholders follow the Ontario IMS in the event of an emergency, which is a guidance doctrine maintained by Emergency Management Ontario under the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services that focuses on managing planned or unplanned incidents.
“We were pleased to see over 40 participants from across the four feather boards join the training,” said Ingrid DeVisser, Chair, FBCC. “When emergencies do occur, these participants will be able to resort to their training, understand the chain of command, and more effectively fulfill roles as they are assigned.”
“An important part of the exercise is testing our ability to safely move product and maintain business continuity during a disease outbreak through use of movement permits,” stated Dr. Tom Baker, Manager and Incident Commander of the Feather Board Command Centre. “As a result, we invited selected industry stakeholders from the processing, feed and hatchery sectors to participate with us in this exercise.”
Learnings and insights from the training exercise will be reflected upon and implemented to ensure that Ontario’s poultry industry maintains its strong emergency response protocols.
FBCC was developed to coordinate the Ontario poultry industry’s emergency response to targeted diseases through promoting preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.
For more information, visit the Feather Board Command Centre’s website at www.fbcc.ca.