Emergency Response

Safeguarding the health of the citizens and environment within Alberta's Industrial Heartland and surrounding region is a priority. The five municipal partners of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association work in conjuction with municipal authorities, health and safety associations at all levels, residents, industry, and various other stakeholders. Together, they ensure appropriate emergency response preparedness. 

One critical component of emergency response preparedness is an Emergency Response Plan (ERP). Provincial regulators, such as the Energy Resources Conservation Board, require industry to establish and maintain ERPs. In developing standard practices and dealing with emergency response requests, industry shares resources and expertise. Individual industrial facilities within Alberta's Industrial Heartland have extensive public awareness, consultation and notification processes, and procedures and resources in place to protect their employees and the community in which they operate. Evacuation procedures and printed materials for public use on subjects such as sheltering in place have been developed. In addition, the municipal partners each have protective services responsibilities. 

Alberta's Industrial Heartland incorporates a large area. To help facilitate emergency response, Strathcona County constructed Heartland Hall in the northeast corner of the County. From this location, all emergency services, including fire, police, and ambulance are quickly and easily accessible to nearby industrial facilities. Through Northeast Region Community Awareness Emergency Response, all municipal partners of Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association have access to a central dispatch located in Sherwood Park.

Emergency Response Organizations 

Northeast Region Community Awareness and Emergency Response (NR CAER)
NR CAER provides the combined resources of industry, municipal and other resources for emergencies requiring mutual aid intervention. NR CAER also ensures that the emergency response plans of its members are compatible and offer mutual aid response training to members.  

Strathcona Industrial Association CAER
Like NR CAER, the Strathcona Industrial Association (SIA) takes the protection of community health and safety seriously. In addition to coordinating mutual aid resources in the southern portion of Alberta's Industrial Heartland, SIA's Community Awareness Emergency Response integrates members' emergency response plans into an overall plan for handling all emergencies.

Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA)
The AEMA is a provincial government agency which leads the coordination of all organizations involved in prevention and response to disasters and emergencies. The agency's Response Readiness Centre is a central point for the collection, evaluation and dissemination of information concerning a single incident or multiple incidents occurring in the province of Alberta. It is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be reached at 1-866-618-2362 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Community Notification System

NR CAER has two methods of notifying residents of emergency situations. Residents can call the UPDATEline (1-866-653-9959) which provides a recorded message detailing the status of industrial site activities including noises, alarms, smoke, fire, smells, etc. The line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

The second method is the automated call-out system, which informs residents about more serious events. Residents provide their contact information by phoning NR CAER at 780-424-0162. In emergency situations, safety information and instructions are communicated to residents through municipal and provincial notification systems. The call-out system is an additional method of communicating information to residents in the region.

Industrial Heartland Complaint Protocol 

The Industrial Heartland Cooperative Complaint protocol is a combined government, municipal and industrial initiative that, since November 2001, has enabled a timely response to concerns raised by the public in Alberta's Industrial Heartland.

When a complaint is received by Alberta Environment, the Energy Resources Conservation Board or a local industry, an investigator is dispatched to the area from the responding organization to determine the specifics of the complaint. All relevant information is recorded and sent to Alberta Environment. Alberta Environment may also respond to the area and conduct a more detailed investigation. 

Alberta Environment’s 24-hour environmental complaint line is 1-800-222-6514.