By Sara Keddy
editor@kingscountyregister.ca
NovaNewsNow.com
It was a massive effort to evacuate and then care for the residents of the Kings Regional Rehabilitation Centre, but director Betty Mattson has nothing but praise for how it was handled.
A bomb threat was received by a staff member around 4 p.m. March 8.
“It was a major decision to evacuate - it takes a lot. We have some clients with some very intensive needs - 70 are immobilized; and we have to ensure safety is there. We’ve practised drills many times, and tested the plan moving four or five units at a time - but never all eight at once.
“We were out in 15 minutes - I don’t mean to brag, but we did a fantastic job,” Mattson says of the evacuation of 173 residents and close to 60 staff.
Staff led residents down the County Home Road - walking, pushing those in wheelchairs and push chairs; two school buses and the centre’s vans were also used to convey everyone to safety at the nearby Waterville fire hall. Mattson says prepared backpacks carry all kinds of emergency information and phone lists, so staff can start calling residents’ families who may hear of the situation. Grandview Manor in Berwick was also put on stand-by should residents be out longer than a few hours.
In the meantime, Kings RCMP called out Waterville firefighters, along with support crews from Kentville and Berwick, to secure the scene at the rehab and control traffic - and be there “just in case,’ RCMP Cpl Greg Hicks of the New Minas detachment said.
“We have a police dog that can clear a building for such things, and that team was dispatched immediately,” Hicks said.
Waterville fire department spokesman Kevin Ernest said the call came to firefighters requesting them to report to the fire hall.
“That’s strange, and firefighters know it - it could be anything: a search, a variety of things.
“Once we’re dispatched, the officer in charge acknowledges the dispatch and calls in for details.”
Firefighters set up at the scene as if it was a fire - “There could be,” Ernest said - and held position until the all-clear was given.
Also at the scene were Valley Search and Rescue volunteers with their new wheelchair accessible bus, Emergency Health Services and even the Department of Transportation, all offering assistance.
From 4:30 p.m. to just before 7 p.m., police searched the rehab before declaring the all-clear.
Rehab staff, who’d started preparing mass amounts of sandwiches, juice and soft, mashed banana for special diets; continued to feed any residents who were hungry, while others started the reverse trip back home in the dark.
“We were out in 15 minutes - I don’t mean to brag, but we did a fantastic job." - Kings Regional Rehabilitation Centre director Betty Mattson
“They clearly have their plan together,” Hicks said of the rehab’s emergency preparedness. “They did a great job.”
Ernest echoed that, saying the evacuation went really well. He commended rehab staff.
Mattson credits teamwork among both long-time staff and newer employees for the successful evacuation.
“We’re very fortunate in the calibre of our staff - it was clockwork, and people did their role and anything else that was assigned.
“The clients also did exceedingly well - they were aware something was going on, and they were very helpful and working with us.”
Officers were at the scene during the event and continued working through the night and into March 9 to trace the source of the threat. Hicks said potential charges could include mischief and interference with the lawful operation of a public building - and others, depending on the investigation. he would not confirm the source of the threat from an email.
Mattson said March 9 she delivered coffee break fixin's to the centre’s units that morning as thanks to staff for their efforts in the evacuation.
