Emergency Management Portfolio

Leading rural emergency response and community preparedness in Northern Ontario.

Former Fire Chief and Volunteer Firefighter with the Searchmont Community Volunteer Fire Department (SCVFD), serving Searchmont and area north of Sault Ste. Marie for 28 years.

View my experience Request resume

Travis McCormack in turnout gear, frost on beard and glasses, after an overnight winter call — Returning to base after an overnight winter call

RoleFire Chief, 11 yearsVolunteer Firefighter, 28 years

Service areaSearchmont & areaGoulais River watershed, Algoma District

Call typesFire & first responsePlus flood and wildfire-season support

Team led21 volunteersRecruited, trained and retained

About

A practitioner's view of emergency management

In a small, unincorporated community, the volunteer fire department is often the whole local emergency system. As Fire Chief of the SCVFD, I was responsible for the full cycle: preventing incidents through public education, keeping volunteers trained and equipped, leading the response when calls came in, and supporting the community after an event.

That work meant coordinating with provincial partners such as the Office of the Fire Marshal, the Ministry of Natural Resources and neighbouring departments through mutual aid. It also meant communicating clearly with residents during floods and fire bans, and keeping an all-volunteer organization ready on a limited budget.

This site supports my application to Emergency Management Ontario for the role of Team Lead (Fire Services Advisor 2), Job ID 248416. It shows how that front-line experience applies to provincial emergency management.

Experience by EM component

Experience mapped to Ontario's emergency management framework

Department activities grouped by the five components of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

01 · Prevention & Mitigation

Public fire and life-safety education

Ran annual Fire Prevention Week campaigns with the NFPA, including kitchen-fire prevention and monthly smoke alarm testing.
Promoted CO alarm compliance under Ontario's Hawkins-Gignac Act, which made alarms mandatory in homes with fuel-burning appliances.
Delivered the OFM Public Fire Safety Council's "12 Days of Holiday Fire Safety" campaign locally.
Ran the community's fire permit program and gave out free smoke alarms at fire hall open houses.

02 · Preparedness

Capability, training and resources

Recruited new volunteers and put them through OFM / Ontario Fire College Module A training, covering incident management, SCBA, PPE, suppression, ventilation and firefighter survival.
Restored water-supply capacity after the department's tanker was lost: found, imported and put a replacement tanker into service within about four months.
Took part in regional mutual aid planning through the Algoma Mutual Aid Association, including the Mutual Aid Conference.
Took part in MNRF's annual Goulais River pre-flood working group. The SCVFD is the designated lead agency for on-the-ground flood response in Searchmont.
Helped replace the 25-year-old radio repeater that links Sault Ste. Marie dispatch to fire units up to 100 km away, through a joint grant with three neighbouring departments.
Maintained apparatus, the volunteer Green Light program and radio communications.

03 · Response

Incident command and public warning

Led the response to fire and first-response calls across a rural area with long travel distances and limited water supply.
Passed MNR flood bulletins to residents during Goulais River spring flooding, including road closures, roads under water and emergency contacts.
Announced and enforced provincial Restricted Fire Zone orders during high wildfire-hazard periods, and announced when they were lifted.
Opened the community hall as a reception and warming centre for 27 passengers and 3 crew evacuated from a train stopped by track washouts in October 2014.
Turned the April 2012 CN derailment into rail-response lesson plans and mock training scenarios. CN Rail later used the response as example material in its Railroad Emergency Response Management course.
Yearly average of 45 calls ranging across medical, structure fire, motor vehicle collisions, wildland fires, search and rescue support, snowmobile trail responses, hazardous material incidents, railway incident responses

04 · Recovery & Community Resilience

Sustaining the department and the community

Organized the annual Fireman's Ball from 2010 on to raise funds and thank volunteers.
Held fire hall open houses and took part in Searchmont Community Day and local festivals to build trust and recruit volunteers.
Supported residents after fires and floods: connected families with the Canadian Red Cross and social services, checked in on affected households and helped with cleanup.
Worked with the Local Services Board and Recreation Club to open the Community Centre to displaced residents, with showers, a kitchen and a clean, warm, safe place to start recovering.
Held weekly debriefs on every call focused on continuous improvement: recognizing what went well and agreeing on areas to improve. Outside of SOG and legislative changes, these debriefs were the main driver of change in the department.

Leadership as Fire Chief

Running an all-volunteer emergency service

Governance & budget

Reported to the Local Services Board of Searchmont, with a report from the Chief or a designate at each monthly public meeting covering the month's calls, training status and project updates.

Managed an annual operating budget of $70,000–$90,000 with steady, planned growth. Set up a major projects fund and a vehicle replacement fund to keep the department's resources sound for the long term.

Used Fireman's Ball proceeds to buy equipment such as multi-gas detectors and new defibrillators. Applied jointly with three neighbouring departments and won a $15,000 Jenny's Heroes Canada Fire Services Equipment Grant to replace a failing 25-year-old radio repeater.

People

Recruited, trained, scheduled and retained an average volunteer roster of 21.

Partnerships

Local Services Board of Searchmont and the Searchmont Recreation Club; Office of the Fire Marshal and Ontario Fire College; MNR, MTO and the OPP; EMS and Paramedic Services; Search and Rescue; the Canadian Red Cross; Algoma Central Railway and CN; Algoma Power and McDougall Energy; and the Algoma Mutual Aid Association, including the Aweres, Goulais and Batchawana fire departments and Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services.

Communications

Kept the department website and social channels current, posting public warnings, fire ban notices and safety campaigns.

Cultural understanding

Reconciliation in practice

My family heritage is Indigenous. My great-grandmother was Anishinaabe from Batchewana. I don't hold status myself, but that heritage shapes how I approach my work and my community.

I take part regularly in Indigenous-led community groups. As President of the Superior Community Skatepark Association, I work with people from all walks of life across the region.

I completed Algoma University's profound Grow with Gabegendaadowin training experience. It covered Anishinaabe culture, treaty relationships, the Indian Act and related policy, intergenerational trauma and resilience, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, and personal reconciliation. The time spent was an immersive, open experience of learning to walk in someone else's shoes.

Two skateboarders silhouetted at sunset on the bowl of a free public skatepark

Working with First Nations through mutual aid

Through the Algoma Mutual Aid Association, the department worked directly with Mississauga First Nation, which played a key role in supplying apparatus for regional training events.
Several neighbouring departments provide fire services to First Nations under contract. Through our mutual aid agreements, the SCVFD stands ready to support those communities when needed.

My personal calls to action

Inspired by TRC Call to Action 57

Build cultural competency

Keep seeking out and completing professional and personal training in intercultural competency, anti-racism and Indigenous history, as Call to Action 57 asks of public servants.

Economic reconciliation

Support Indigenous businesses and arts

Buy art, books, music and goods directly from First Nations, Inuit and Métis creators and businesses.

Inspired by TRC Call to Action 90

Inclusive community sport

Call to Action 90 asks for community sports programs that are inclusive of and accessible to Indigenous peoples. As President of the Superior Community Skatepark Association, I helped create and continue to promote a free, open skatepark for all residents of the region, in partnership with the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

Response examples

Selected incidents

Each case follows a situation, role, actions, outcome structure, which lines up with competency-based interview questions.

Firefighter in turnout gear standing at the edge of a road washed out by a fast-flowing creek

Road washed out down to the creek bed, with broken culvert sections in the water

Railway track left hanging over a washout, ties unsupported and culvert pipes exposed beneath

Washouts · Rescue · Rail evacuation · October 14, 2014

A night of washouts, a ladder rescue and a train evacuation on Highway 532

Situation: Heavy rain in the Wabos area caused several washouts. On the way to a fire call, crews found a hole in Highway 532 the size of a transport truck, 20 feet deep with a straight drop-off. More washouts left a man stranded between two gaps in the road. Water had also undermined the track, so a southbound Algoma Central Railway train was stopped at Wabos.
My role: Fire Chief and Incident Commander, SCVFD.
Actions: Secured the washout so no vehicle could drive into it, and confirmed with the callers that there was no fire. Bridged the gap with a ladder so the stranded man could crawl across to safety, with rope rigging from Sault Search and Rescue as a safety line. Worked with ACR, CN and Search and Rescue to bring 27 passengers and 3 crew to Searchmont by hi-rail vehicle. Opened the Searchmont community centre for shelter, food and drink until buses took everyone on to Sault Ste. Marie.
Outcome: The stranded man and all 30 people from the train were brought to safety. The response involved several agencies working together through the night. Lesson learned: a clearer, more detailed understanding of what Sault Search and Rescue's rope-rescue-trained members can provide. Their rigging made the ladder crossing much safer, and that capability now informs how we plan for and call on them.

Media coverage: SooToday, "Dramatic night of rescues in Searchmont" (October 15, 2014)

Gloved hand on a fire hose nozzle coated in ice, with water still flowing, beside a snow-covered woodshed

Structure fire · Incident command · Mutual aid · February 2019

Lakeside house fire reached by a narrow private road in winter

Situation: Paged at about 3:30 a.m. for a shed fire. Wind and the shed's closeness to the house spread the fire quickly. The only access was a narrow, poorly maintained winter private road on the north end of the lake, in sub-zero temperatures.
My role: Fire Chief and Incident Commander.
Actions: Called in mutual aid from the Aweres Fire Department, 30 minutes away, for more firefighters and equipment. The road could take only one tanker load, so crews cut a hole in the lake ice and drafted with a portable pump. Water was kept flowing constantly so hoses and nozzles wouldn't freeze. An aggressive knockdown and defensive exposure protection kept the fire from reaching other homes. The Red Cross was dispatched to support the displaced homeowner and family.
Outcome: No injuries. The house and shed were a total loss, but the fire did not spread to nearby homes. The house next door had only minor heat damage to its siding.

Media coverage: SooToday, "Fire destroys Searchmont area home" (SCVFD news release, February 13, 2019)

Overturned freight cars and wheel sets piled in the trees beside the track

Close view of a derailed boxcar and tangled bogies and wheels

Steel coil thrown from the train lying in the woods in standing water

Rail derailment · Hazardous materials · April 1, 2012

CN freight train derailment: 11 of 34 cars off the track

Situation: On Sunday morning, 11 cars of a 34-car train derailed near Searchmont on the CN line between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. Cars, wheel sets and a dozen or so steel coils went down the embankment into the woods, creating a hazardous waste scene. The derailment affected a main tributary of the Goulais River and brought contamination into contact with the local water supply. That was a serious concern in an area where residents rely on private wells.
My role: Led the department's after-action review and the training changes that came out of it.
Actions: The after-action review found a notification gap: CN had not informed the department as its own procedures required. Railway response content was added to individual lesson plans where it applied, and the derailment became the base data for mock scenarios in later training sessions.
Outcome: The line reopened the next morning, sooner than CN expected. Rail incidents became a standing part of the department's training plan. CN Rail later used the SCVFD's response as example material in its Railroad Emergency Response Management course.

Media coverage: SooToday, "Searchmont derailment update" (April 3, 2012), with photos taken by Travis McCormack

Road Closed and flooded-road signs with a pumper driving through floodwater behind them

View from the side of a yellow pumper wading through fast floodwater behind another apparatus

OPP officer at a flooded road closure at night, with water flowing across the roadway

Flood · October 10–11, 2018

Goulais River localized flooding

Situation: Heavy fall rain sent the Goulais River and its tributaries over roads across the response area. Roads were closed, and apparatus had to drive through water-covered sections.
My role: Fire Chief and Incident Commander. Under MNRF's Goulais River flood plan, the SCVFD is the lead agency for on-the-ground flood response in Searchmont.
Actions: Staffed flooded-road closures overnight alongside the OPP, and kept apparatus moving through flooded sections to maintain coverage. Coordinated evacuations with the OPP and Sault Search and Rescue. Used the local Vulnerable Persons Registry (VPR) to find residents who might need help, and encouraged residents we met to add themselves to it.
Outcome: Flooding in the Goulais River watershed happens almost every year, with fall rains and spring runoff. The real question each year is how severe it will be. Response depends on preparation done well before the water rises.
Year-round flood planning: Took part in the annual pre-flood working group led by MNRF, bringing together the OPP, MTO, Algoma Power, the Red Cross, Sault Search and Rescue, the environment ministry and neighbouring fire departments. MNRF shared flood outlook briefs, and the department reported back on conditions on the ground. In one year, we reported a power pole whose footing had washed out. The group connected us directly with Algoma Power to schedule a replacement pole. That line is the community's only power feed, and losing it would have cut power to hundreds of households.

Training & certifications

Qualifications

A selection of key qualifications related to emergency management. This is not a complete list.

OFM / Ontario Fire College — Module A Firefighter Training
Incident Management System (IMS) 100
NFPA 1021 — Fire Officer I
NFPA 1041 — Fire and Emergency Services Instructor Professional
NFPA 1072 — Hazardous Materials Program
Railroad Emergency Response Management (CN Rail)A specialized course for fire chiefs and senior officers
Ontario Fire College — LegislationFPPA 1997, OHSA, NFPA standards, Section 21 Guidance Notes