All CEPA members have agreed to help each other in an emergency when another member requests assistance. In 2013, all CEPA members committed to a Mutual Emergency Assistance Agreement to strengthen emergency response. This agreement formalizes and legalizes an existing industry practice, reinforcing that the knowledge, expertise and resources of all members are available to one another – because any operator’s incident is every operator’s incident.
In the event of an emergency, members can request assistance from any member. Assistance may be in the form of personnel, equipment, tools or specialized response advice, depending on the situation. It’s an arrangement that considerably increases the resources available in an emergency.
The skill and resources of all CEPA members are available in an emergency.
In 2014, CEPA members collaborated on a joint emergency management exercise to practice coordinating a unified emergency response. The first of its kind for the industry, the exercise was a successful test of the Mutual Emergency Assistance Agreement. Now every member is prepared to provide personnel and equipment, increasing resources available to deal with an emergency.
An internationally-recognized Incident Command System (ICS) is used to help control and coordinate emergency response.