» Facing Adversity
STILL STANDING!
A Fort McMurray club rebuilds after the fires and fundraises for the community along the way
BY SHEILA CHUTSKOFF O
n May 3, our Timberlea club manager Robyn Muir was watching the fires very closely. When she felt that they were getting
too close to the studio she called me in Kelowna to voice her concerns. When she sent me a photo showing the fires in the near distance, I was shocked and extremely concerned, and I told her to immediately shut the studio, evacuate the guests and send staff home. According to Robyn, everyone
stayed relatively calm. Some guests, who didn’t understand the severity of the situation, even wanted to fin- ish their classes. Three hours later, the
radio announced a city-wide mandatory evacuation.
Closing the club One of the television
news reporters said that Fort McMurray was “lucky” to have no deaths resulting from the fires. I believe that luck had nothing to do with it. I be- lieve that we had no casual- ties because we have a city full of level-headed and safe- ty-trained people (many of whom work in high-risk oil-in- dustry jobs). This includes all oranj staff, who are trained in first aid and dealing with emergencies. Our staff, guests and the entire
community were afraid, but they re- sponded calmly and in a united fash- ion. Out in the streets, in the panic to exit the city, drivers still slowed down to let others in front of them de- spite flames within feet of their cars. So it wasn’t luck at all. Instead, I be- lieve that the people of Fort McMurray owe their lives to level headed, edu- cated and safety-trained citizens and to hard-working firefighters and first responders.
Staying in touch with members Our members and staff were our
number one priority during this en- tire situation. From the time of the evacuation to the return of everyone to the city, we were in direct contact with them via email and Facebook. Fortunately, our social media pres- ence has always been very strong, and it proved to be a very effective form of communication. There were lots of questions, many
about the well being of our staff. A few days later, the comments were about
“The biggest frustration was that no one—including insurance adjustors—was allowed back into the city. This was the hardest part: not knowing how much damage had been done or if the studio had burned to the ground.”
26 Fitness Business Canada July/August 2016
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