Investigation into 9-1-1 call

The RCMP are continuing to investigate how the emegency call of the oncoming flood on June 18 could have been better handled by dispatchers and members of the Redcliff detachment.

In the early morning hours that Friday, area rancher Geoff Watson saw the waters rising on his property south of Irvine. Already having to deal with localized flooding from previous heavy rain and snowfalls, the Watson's were trying to shop vac the water from their basement. But, when he saw the water rising that night, Watson  got into his truck to take a look at lowlying areas before he decided to make the call to 9-1-1.

"I went south of the yard to Highway 515 and the water was already crossing the secondary highway and I knew it was going to be bad. That's why I called," said Watson.

"We have been getting rain all spring and with this last rain, it started here about 9:00 p.m., and we got six inches. I called the RCMP about 1 in the morning and it took them six hours. In that six hours, those people in Irvine would have had time to get things moved high and gotten out. Why weren't those people warned sooner? A lot of damage has been done because they did not act. Unfortunately, the ball got dropped," he said.

Inspector Joe McGeough, operations officer for the southern Alberta district of the RCMP

"We have confirmed that there was a call about 1:00 a.m. and no action was taken. I am not happy with our response for that call. The member at dispatch did not understand the magnitude of that call," said McGeough.

The next call to the RCMP was just after 4:00 a.m.

"We have discussed with our emergency response management team what needs to be changed. In 20-20 hindsight, we would have done things different. This is something we are taking very serious," he said.