■ Code orange
Regional hospitals follow emergency call Protocols in place for emergencies such as Babine Forest Products explosion ALLan Wishart allanw@pgfreepress.com
At 10:52 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, Northern Health called a Code Orange in response to the explosion and fire at Babine Forest Products near Burns Lake. Communications officer Steve Raper says the Code Orange is a system they have in place for emergencies. “A Code Orange is when we have an event where we expect mass casualties who will need to be treated. It enables the entire system to respond, meaning doctors, nurses, specialists and other medical personnel report to their hospitals in case they’re needed. We also call in people like child support specialists in case they are needed.” Raper says the call is made by the emergency operations commander and also activates an emergency operations centre at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. “The code gives us the means to call people in who may be off and also keep other people on past the regular end of their shift as needed.” In this case, the Code Orange extended from Prince George to Smithers, with all medical facilities on alert. In Prince George, which is where it is anticipated
the most serious cases will end up, other actions can be taken, Raper says. “Elective surgeries and some scheduled tests can be cancelled. We have to free up the surgery rooms as well as the CT scanner and the X-ray machines.” Other hospitals in the Code Orange area do the same, but, since in most cases they have fewer services, they are affected less. Raper adds it’s not just the hospitals that are affected by a Code Orange. “We also work with the B.C. Ambulance Service, the air evacuation teams, anyone who may be needed to help with the situation.” In the case of the Babine Forest Products emergency, Raper says, “the efforts of our staff and physicians were exceptional.” Code Oranges are rare events, he says, but they have had three in the past six months: two for apartment house fires in Prince George and the Babine Forest Products one on the weekend. The Code Orange was called off late Saturday morning, about 12 hours after it began. “At that point, we didn’t know if there were more casualties comings,” Raper says, “but we knew there would be no mass intake.”
He says it’s important for the public to be aware of the efforts
of Northern Health to plan for emergencies.
“People need to be aware we have these protocols in place.”
Bla ck Pre s s Ph o to
Friends and relatives of Babine Forest Products workers watch as another victim of Friday night’s explosion and fire is brought into Lakes District Hospital in Burns Lake.