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, during a winter night call — On scene during a winter call, [year]

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, including the Mutual Aid Conference.
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.
Led the department's response to the April 2012 CN derailment, which CN Rail later used 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.
[Add: post-incident support to affected residents, debriefs, lessons learned]

Leadership as Fire Chief

Running an all-volunteer emergency service

Governance & budget

[Reporting relationship, budget managed, grant applications]

People

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

Partnerships

Office of the Fire Marshal, Ontario Fire College, MNR, the OPP, Algoma Central Railway, CN, Search and Rescue and the Canadian Red Cross, plus mutual aid partners at the Aweres, Goulais and Batchawana fire departments. [Add others]

Communications

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

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, SCVFD. [Confirm: Incident Commander]
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. 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. [Lessons learned]

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

[Photo — house fire, ice-hole drafting or frozen gear, February 2019]

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.
My role: [Your role]
Actions: Secured the scene and responded to the hazardous waste release. [Isolation zone, CN coordination, ministry notification, residents]
Outcome: The line reopened the next morning, sooner than CN expected. 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: [Your role during the event]
Actions: Staffed flooded-road closures overnight alongside the OPP, and kept apparatus moving through flooded sections to maintain coverage. [Confirm and add details]
Outcome: [Result and lessons learned]

Firefighter directing traffic on a winter road while a tow truck and ambulance attend a car in the snowbank

Motor vehicle collision · March 2013

Winter roadway collision

Situation: A vehicle left an icy road and ended up in the snowbank on a curve.
My role: [Your role]
Actions: Provided traffic control and scene safety while EMS and the tow operator worked the scene. [Patient care, hazards]
Outcome: [Result]

[Photo — fire ban signage or forest conditions]

Wildfire hazard · May & July 2012

Restricted Fire Zone orders

Situation: Extreme dryness led the province to declare Restricted Fire Zones over Searchmont and area twice in one season.
My role: [Your role]
Actions: Told residents and seasonal visitors when the orders started and were lifted, and explained the reason for the restrictions. [Add enforcement and response actions]
Outcome: [Result]

Several fire apparatus with emergency lights on a snowy road at night, crews working beside them

[Incident type] · February 2019

[Structure fire / MVC / medical / search — title]

Add a third incident where you held command. Cover the situation, your role, the actions taken and the outcome, including how you worked with EMS, OPP or mutual aid partners.

Training & certifications