July 28, 2025 • 36 mins
Public Safety Manager Ada Nadison from FortisBC joins to unpack gas safety, wildfire response, emergency planning, invisible infrastructure, and how behind-the-scenes systems keep your home safe and resilient with host Aaron Pete.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ada Nadison (00:07):
My name is Ada Natasson and I'm the Public
Safety Manager at FortisBC.
Electricity actually scares meway more than gas does, because
you can't give it a smell, youcan't see it.
Aaron Pete (00:16):
What is the safety culture at FortisBC?
Ada Nadison (00:19):
You can't operate a utility company without safety
just being at the core of everylevel of what we do.
You don't want to be the personthat didn't do your due
diligence and didn't getinformation and ending up, you
know, hitting a gas line that isproviding power to the local,
like hospital or the localelementary school or a care home
or nursing home.
Aaron Pete (00:36):
What do you think would be important for people
listening to this to understandabout safety when we think of
wildfires that are becoming verycommonplace?
How do municipalities andIndigenous communities respond
to this?
Ada Nadison (00:51):
The more education we can do and the more just
little reminders that we canthrow into their daily life.
It's just a little action thatthey can do daily to build that
habit.
Aaron Pete (00:58):
How do you make sure that Indigenous communities are
supported with some of thisimportant safety training?
Ada, thank you so much forbeing willing to join us today.
(01:24):
Would you mind firstintroducing yourself?
Ada Nadison (01:26):
Thanks, aaron.
Yeah, my name is Ada Nadisonand I'm the Public Safety
Manager at FortisBC.
Thanks for having me.
Aaron Pete (01:36):
It's my pleasure.
Ada Nadison (01:37):
Are you able to walk us through a bit about the
work that you do in relation toFortisBC?
Yeah, you bet.
So you know, when you thinkabout safety at a company,
especially with a utilitycompany where we have customers,
I would kind of break it downinto two pieces of safety.
So there's the safety of allthe staff that work at Fortis
and making sure they'refollowing all the safe work
procedures.
So that's like occupationalhealth and safety.
So I'd say that that's adifferent role with regards to
(01:59):
safety.
And then there's the safety ofall the individuals that
interact with our infrastructure, that don't work for the
company, so the general public,contractors, first responders.
So my position is to supportthe safety programs of everybody
outside of.
Aaron Pete (02:13):
Fortis.
What do you think people shouldunderstand about that area
specifically?
Ada Nadison (02:19):
Utilities are one of those things that people use
on a daily basis but they don'treally understand, kind of where
it comes from and how it works.
So it's a really interestingfield because it's an
opportunity to educate people ona resource that essentially
helps their daily lives functionon a daily basis.
Aaron Pete (02:36):
I find that really interesting and I've spoken in
the previous interviews aboutthis that it's such a need to
have natural gas in communities,in homes, during winter.
Most people end up havingsevere health issues if not
passing away during cold spellsnot during heat spells to the
same extent and so it is anincredibly important piece of
(02:59):
infrastructure that supportspeople in living their lives.
How have you reflected on thatthroughout your work and
understanding how big a rolethis plays in people's
day-to-day lives that they don'talways recognize is so crucial?
Ada Nadison (03:12):
I'm just going to do a bit about my background, I
guess.
So I spent many years workingfor 9-1-1.
So just public safety andworking in a field that protects
the public interest has alwaysbeen a big passion for mine.
So you know, working in 911 andwhenever there's a major
incident, part of thedecision-making that we do is to
(03:32):
look at the criticalinfrastructure that's in place
in a certain community and howthat's going to impact how
things go.
I also worked in emergencymanagement for several years as
well, which is where criticalinfrastructure is also a huge
part of that industry.
So just kind of through mycareer trajectory and just
seeing the importance of thingslike utilities and hospitals and
care centers and how they playa huge role in supporting the
(03:55):
community and making sure thecommunity can just function as
it is, made me very passionateabout moving towards working in
the utilities industry and thendoing the public safety Right.
Where did that?
Aaron Pete (04:03):
come from.
For you what specifically?
Being interested in publicsafety and emergency management
and caring about those types ofthings.
Ada Nadison (04:11):
I've always been a pretty empathetic person and
it's really important for me todo something with my life where
I wake up every morning and Ifeel like what I'm doing
contributes to society in someway even as a kid, so it was a
natural fit for me.
When I went to school, I chosea degree in criminology, I got
my certificate in police studiesand then I also got another
(04:32):
certificate in emergencymanagement, so I just need to
feel like I'm doing good everyday.
That's just very important towho I am as a person.
Aaron Pete (04:39):
Is there anything like an experience you had like,
like calling 911, where theyplayed some sort of role?
Or were your parents reallyinvolved in safety and community
like where?
Where do you think the impetuswas to go down that path?
Ada Nadison (04:54):
that's such an interesting question.
I've never been asked thatbefore.
If, when I think about it, mydad's always been, um, like a
stickler for safety he actuallyworks for work safe bc and he's
an incident investigator and hedid a lot of jobs in
occupational health and safetytoo.
So I think that safety culturewas just in my home growing up
(05:14):
and just making sure.
You know, he was the type ofperson that made sure things
were put away in the right place, because anything accidents can
happen, and so I think as a kidI was just exposed to just
being safe and it just trickledinto my adulthood.
Aaron Pete (05:27):
Yeah, cause one thing that you said I really
liked, and it was that, likethere should be a certain amount
of being able to live yourday-to-day life and not have to
worry about these things, andthat's that's a really
interesting comment, cause, likeI keep looking at it from this
perspective of like oh, there'sthese things that like play such
a crucial role in our life andwe don't understand them.
And your point is well takenthat like that's an important
(05:50):
piece of like a healthycivilization that we can trust
that people are managing.
And I was just walking throughmy community and they're doing
like research on the bugs in thearea and I was like, well, I'm
glad somebody's thinking aboutthat, because I'm certainly not
thinking about that and knowingthat there's somebody behind the
scenes managing these things.
we often hear about beingproactive and being reactive,
and the goal is always to bemore proactive than reactive.
(06:11):
How does that play a role insafety from your perspective?
Ada Nadison (06:14):
So it's really interesting talking about when
you were just mentioning howthere are people that are
essentially working behind thescenes to make sure things are
safe and operating well.
There's really two pieces tosafety and I've noticed this.
This is something I'd like to,a culture I'd like to shift.
I think in BC for me personally.
So there is because we live ina generally like privileged
(06:38):
society, people go about theirdaily lives not really worrying
about like we don't have war andwe don't have, you know, like
extreme poverty, like some otherplaces in the world, so people
don't think about the thingsthey need to do to keep
themselves alive, right,generally, there's a culture in
(07:01):
BC where individuals rely veryheavily onus on personal
preparedness, because whensomething big happens, these
resources are going toprioritize vulnerable
communities, vulnerablepopulations, and then the
average person is going to bevery low on the you know, on the
list of priorities.
But the average person thinksthat or is relying on these
(07:21):
agencies or these bodies to comein and save the day, so things
take longer.
So, to have a really healthycommunity, I think people really
need to focus on knowing whatthey need to do to keep
themselves safe.
Often, when it comes toemergency situations, the first
responders are actually yourneighbors.
It's not a first responder,right, because they have to get
to you first, right?
So the person that lives nextdoor, your friends and your
(07:43):
family, those are the peoplethat need to be able to be
self-sufficient and resilientenough to take care of each
other until that professionalhelp comes, if they can even get
there.
So with our public safetyprogram at Fortis, you know
there's a huge emphasis oneducation and just making sure
our customers are aware of youknow some of the risks
associated with the utility.
(08:03):
It's a very safe utility, butnothing is 100% foolproof.
So we want to make sure theyunderstand where things can go
wrong, how to identify issuesand then be able to take the
correct actions and steps tokeep themselves and their
neighbors and their communitysafe.
And then, in the event thatthese things don't all work out,
then that's when theprofessionals come in, whether
it be our technicians or thefirst responders, depending on
(08:24):
what the incident is.
So that's a long-winded answer.
Aaron Pete (08:28):
It's a really good answer because we had the 2021
atmospheric river and I thinkfor a period that woke a lot of
people up because all of asudden, two in the morning,
people are sandbagging a dike totry and stop it from breaking
and the communities comingtogether to try and address
things.
But for a period of time,chilliwack was very close to
being an island, and so was Hope, and we're not as prepared as I
(08:52):
think we should be.
But then, once the incident isover, it seems like we kind of
go back to normal and we kind oflike everybody knows you're
supposed to have like three daysworth of food or something like
that Minimum, minimum.
And yet, like, if you do go intomost people's homes, do they
actually have that?
Is it expired?
Are they maintaining it?
Does it seem like kind of aluxury to buy those things?
(09:13):
I think it often does forpeople.
So what are some of thebarriers you see to getting
people to take an interest ingetting educated and be the
individuals that are prepared?
Ada Nadison (09:19):
I think it's a human nature thing People have,
especially in today's societywhere, you know, like, cost of
living is high, stress is high,you know almost everybody in the
family has to work to, you know, to make ends meet.
There's limited capacity forwhat they're going to focus on
and prioritize and yourday-to-day living is always
going to take priority oversomething that might potentially
(09:40):
happen in the future and youdon't know if it's going to.
So that's definitely thestruggle that I find with safety
, because safety is justsomething I think about on a
daily basis.
It's always on the forefront ofmy mind, but it's not going to
be something that's on theforefront of the average
person's mind.
They have to worry about theirkids, their job, their, you know
, all these other things.
Safety kind of comes down at thebottom.
So the more education we can doand the more just little
(10:02):
reminders that we can throw intotheir kind of their daily life
to just and it doesn't have tobe something so big or an
overhaul of their life, it'sjust a little action that they
can do daily to build that habit.
I think that safety mindset isa is a habit that you have to
build, um, and it's in littlethings like it's.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe as um, as tangible as like
(10:23):
putting together like your kit,but it's, you know, like wearing
a seatbelt right, people neverwore seatbelts before.
And then you just slowly youenforce kind of a regulation,
and then it becomes a habit andnow almost nobody would get into
a car without putting aseatbelt on.
Aaron Pete (10:38):
So yeah, If we can zoom out, what are the larger
scale safety concerns that youhave to look over and monitor?
What are, when we're thinkingabout the infrastructure of
Fortis and these big tanksystems and everything going on
and all of it going intopeople's homes?
How does that all function andwhat are some of the safety
concerns at a high level thatare concerns?
Ada Nadison (10:58):
Yeah, so it's a pretty kind of complex process
or map.
It's a pretty kind of complexprocess or map.
So when it comes to ourinfrastructure, we have a really
amazing engineering operationsteam that are responsible for
maintaining the integrity of ourinfrastructure.
So that's outside of myparticular role, but I work very
closely with them in terms ofjust figuring out how I can
(11:18):
communicate any importantinformation on their end to the
general public.
So they do regular checks, theysurvey for gas leaks, for our
high pressure systems.
We even have helicoptersthat'll do aerial patrols to
identify any unauthorizedactivity along our pipeline.
So that's something thathappens on a daily basis on that
side.
And then there's the educationfor individuals that will
(11:42):
interact with our infrastructure, which is what I focus very
heavily on.
So we have our customers andhomeowners that are gas and
electric customers.
So any safety they need to knowaround having those utilities
in their home.
There are professionals thatwork around our infrastructure.
So excavators, constructionworkers, landscapers that might
dig around a gas line or do workaround a power line.
(12:03):
They need education on how todo that work safely around a gas
line or do work around a powerline.
They need education on how todo that work safely around a
utility, and then there's alsofirst responders that might
respond to an incident.
If there is an incident with,um whatever utility so, um, you
know, a downed power line what'sthe safe way for a police
officer or a firefighter torespond to an electric hazard or
, um, a gas leak, so thateverybody goes home at the end
(12:24):
of the day?
Aaron Pete (12:25):
Interesting.
Are you able to walk us throughat a high level how some of
those things would be approachedor communicated out in regards
to gas leaks and downed powerlines?
Ada Nadison (12:35):
Yeah, so for gas leaks, for, like, a residential
customer or the general publicor community, there's the kind
of the basic safety messaging sowhat natural gas smells like?
Well, natural gas actuallydoesn't have a smell.
We put a kind of smell, you adda smell in, we add a smell.
Yeah, it's called mercaptan.
So it's that rotten egg smellthat you hear about as a kid.
So just that education goingout, if you smell that it means
(12:58):
there's a natural gas leak andthen make sure you leave the
area that you're in because gascan displace oxygen and then it
would lead to asphyxiation.
So just that general messaging.
So you know, get out, call 911,call the FortisBC emergency
line.
So there's that piece and thenthere's the education piece
around any kind of digging orground disturbance where there
is gas.
So our infrastructure runseverywhere, like it is all over
(13:22):
the community.
So we have a big campaign forthe BC One Call.
I don't know if you've heard ofBC One Call.
Yeah, but it's a freeprovincial service where if
anyone is planning to do anykind of disturbance to the
ground, they can go to theirwebsite or call that number.
And BC One Call is essentiallylike this company or this
(13:44):
nonprofit organization that hasdifferent utilities that are
members of it.
So, for example, if you want todo work in your yard, you go to
that website and you highlightan area on the map with where
you want to do work.
Bc One Call will have thatinformation and go okay, well,
in this space.
There's Fortis Gas, there's BCHydro, there's sewage, there's
(14:06):
TELUS you knowtelecommunications.
So it sends a message out toall the different utilities that
own infrastructure in thatspace and then it's the
responsibility of each utilityto send a map of where their
infrastructure is to whoeverrequested the locate information
from BC One call.
So we send them a map of whereour gas lines are.
(14:29):
The map has instructions on howto dig in a safe way so that
you don't hit a gas line, andthat's a huge piece of our
campaign as well.
So that goes out to homeownersand professionals like
construction workers that dowork.
Aaron Pete (14:42):
But you're saying that's a separate company.
I didn't know that.
I always assumed because it's acall before you dig I always
assumed that that was like anarm of Fortis or something.
You're saying that's a separateorganization.
Ada Nadison (14:51):
It's a separate entity.
It's not for profit?
Yeah, and differentmunicipalities, different
utilities are all members of it.
Aaron Pete (15:00):
How long does it take to get all of that
information?
Ada Nadison (15:02):
You should put in your request about three
business days before you start.
So Fortis has a really fastturnaround time.
We'll usually get you the mapwithin three days.
Aaron Pete (15:10):
Wow, that's a lot of information because you have to
think there's constructiongoing on every day across all of
British Columbia and obviouslyacross Canada, but like across
British Columbia, where peoplewould be making that call and
asking for that information.
Ada Nadison (15:26):
Yeah, and it's a legal requirement too for
construction workers.
Construction workers, like, ifyou're doing any kind of this
the minute you put something inthe ground, you're not allowed
to do that before you do yourone call and you get that, that
mapping information for all thedifferent utilities that are
that are there, yeah,interesting.
Aaron Pete (15:40):
So it's now click and call before, or click or
call before you dig, so you'reable to request that online now.
Ada Nadison (15:46):
Yes, most people do it online now.
I mean with you know, with theshift in technology used to be
phone calls, but now everyonelikes to go on a computer and
just type in what you need to doand submit that information.
Aaron Pete (16:02):
That's awesome.
What do you think would beimportant for people listening
to this to understand aboutsafety in regards to their home
and how they operate with gaslines?
Ada Nadison (16:09):
So the underground utility infrastructure highway,
I guess, literally makes yourcommunity function.
Uh, and you don't want to bethe person that didn't do your
due diligence and then getinformation and then ended up
ending up, you know, hitting agas line.
That maybe is um providingpower to the local, like
hospital or the local elementaryschool or a care home or a
nursing home.
(16:29):
You don't know where theselines go and what buildings
they're feeding, and theresponse to repair a line can
take hours.
So depending on the time ofyear too, like if it's a very
cold time of year or a very hottime of year where they're
relying on it for cooling, Imean, you just don't want to.
You know you're doing it forthe safety of yourself, but also
for the safety of yourcommunity.
(16:49):
I think there's a civilianresponsibility there to follow
safe procedures whenever they'redoing any kind of work around
utility infrastructure.
Aaron Pete (16:59):
That some contractors haven't followed BC
code, bc building code andmunicipal code on developments.
How do you make sure thatIndigenous communities are
supported with some of thisimportant safety training?
Ada Nadison (17:20):
That's a great question.
So part of my program is toprovide free training to
professionals that do any kindof ground disturbance.
So I work really closely with acolleague in the damage
prevention sphere at Fortis andthen we put on a free session in
that community that anybody cancome and attend, including
(17:59):
Indigenous communities andIndigenous contractors.
I've also mentioned to youearlier that I'm about 11 months
into this role, so still kindof building the program.
But I've looked into differentassociations that Indigenous
contractors are a part of.
So my plan for next year is toreach out to some of these
associations and hostIndigenous-specific training
(18:21):
sessions as well.
So Indigenouscontractor-specific training
sessions.
Aaron Pete (18:25):
Interesting.
I'm wondering if we can stay onthat line of thinking when we
think of wildfires that arebecoming very commonplace.
How do municipalities andIndigenous communities respond
to this?
With gas lines in the area,what does that look like?
Ada Nadison (18:42):
So it's very much like a collaborative effort.
When there's a wildfire,emergency professionals will
meet regularly, you know,regularly through whether it be
through like an emergencyoperations center or regular
coordination call meetings.
So we have a team at Fortisthat is the community indigenous
(19:02):
relations team as well.
So in the event of an activewildfire there would be a
representative from Fortisemergency management, someone
from our community indigenousrelations team, someone from the
local like band or whoever's umlike responsible for emergency
management for that community aswell as the um, somebody from
um like the local like authority, so that the city where the
(19:23):
wildfire might be, and the bcwildfire service.
So there's, there's a lot ofcoordination and communication
that happens during response toan incident um, and and that
conversation happens to.
That conversation happens tohelp us determine, maybe areas
of priority where we should turnoff gas or evacuate.
But Fortis doesn't do theevacuation, but we are part of
the conversation so that we knowwhat areas might be evacuated
(19:45):
so that we would have to shutoff power or gas to those areas.
Aaron Pete (19:48):
Is that relatively easy to do?
To go like okay, this area islike a wildfire setting this way
, just switch it off.
Like is that—that sounds simple, but is it more complicated
behind the scenes to—.
Ada Nadison (20:00):
We have a pretty impressive kind of like—what's
the word I'm looking for?
Like we have a room with allthese monitors.
That monitors like the pressureof the gas and our different
lines throughout the, throughoutthe province, like it's.
Our technology is prettyimpressive, like turning off the
power or is way easier thanturning it back on.
(20:20):
Okay, yeah, because when youturn it back on, we have to go
and actually assess ourinfrastructure to make sure that
it's not damaged and it's safe,and there's like the physical
relighting of of our gas.
Yeah, but turning it off iseasy.
Aaron Pete (20:34):
Turning it off is easy.
Can you walk me through alittle bit more of the turning
it back on process, because thatseems really interesting, that
that's actually one of thechallenges.
Ada Nadison (20:42):
Because you have to relight, so we have to go to
every residence that has gas andwe have to.
Our technician has to go andactually relight the gas and
make sure, like the meter is notcompromised, it's in good
condition, so yeah, and there'sno leaking or anything like that
.
So it takes hours.
Depending on how many customersare without gas, it can take a
long time for-.
Aaron Pete (21:00):
If you have like 2,000, 10,000, if you have a
whole city that's being impactedby a wildfire, that's a lot of
manpower.
Ada Nadison (21:07):
It is a lot of manpower, and I mean it's not
just the relighting, but it'salso making sure the
infrastructure is still in goodshape, right Like nothing needs
to be replaced.
Aaron Pete (21:17):
How does that work when they're underground, like,
what's the—?
We dig it up.
You have to dig it up.
Yeah, I would imagine in somecases you would be able to—I
don't know how would you doublecheck, like, because you
couldn't—for like, say, a wholesubdivision is without.
How would you check every home?
Ada Nadison (21:33):
So our system can also detect where there's leaks.
You know if the pressure haschanged, because all our pipes
run under different pressuredepending if it's a distribution
pipe or a transmission highpressure pipe.
So we know what pressure thegas is supposed to be flowing
within these pipes.
So we have technology thatmonitors that pressure.
(21:55):
We also have really sensitivemethane detectors that can
detect, like, if there's gascoming out of the ground where
it shouldn't be, because itshould be sealed in the pipe.
So we have a whole bunch ofkind of engineering technology
to figure out if things arefunctioning as they should.
And then if we come into anarea where it's like, okay, our
detector's detecting like gas,like leaking, then we'll, you
know, know we might have to shutit down.
Aaron Pete (22:15):
Shut it down, dig a hole, repair chunks of the pipe
that might be compromised, andso there's yeah, there's a whole
team that does that if I had toguess, I feel like a lot more
people are more, moreunderstanding of bc hydro,
because it's, on its face, makessense, like we all learned
about, like uh, hydroelectricdams when we were a kid or got
(22:37):
to go see one.
So it's it's more, I think,commonly known and it's visual.
Yeah, it's above ground, rightexactly whereas natural gas is
often, I feel like even I don'tfully understand it, because
it's out of sight, out of mindwe're the invisible heroes
exactly so can you walk usthrough like I feel?
like I feel I would think thatnatural gas is less safe because
(22:58):
I understand it less.
That doesn't mean it is lesssafe, it's just my ability to
comprehend the safety process,for that would be lower.
Obviously, when you drive pastlike a hydro line that's down
you, you know danger and so I'mwondering is when you came into
Fortis and started learningabout natural gas and how it
works and the safety proceduresand everything, is it as safe?
(23:21):
How do you digest the safety ofnatural gas in comparison to
something like hydro?
I love that question.
Ada Nadison (23:26):
I actually think natural gas is really safe
because even though, yes, youcan see power lines and ford, it
does have electricity as well.
Right, so you can see, visually, see, the power lines.
Electricity it's the power line, is not the the hazard, it's
the electricity, and electricityis invisible.
You can't see that.
So electricity actually scaresme way more than gas does,
(23:47):
because you can't give it asmell, you can't see it, you
don't know where it's flowing orcharging, you don't know where
you're going to go before youget electrocuted.
It terrifies me, right?
Natural gas is invisible, butwe can put a lot of safety
mechanisms in place so that it'sidentifiable, so that mercaptan
, that smell, you can smellnatural gas.
You can hear it because of thepressure that it flows through
(24:09):
the pipe.
So if you puncture the pipe,you're going to hear, you're
going to hear like a tire iswhat?
30, 35 PSI, or distributionlines can be like 60 to 80.
You will hear that sound, right, so at least you have, you can
identify there's some kind ofrisk present.
Also, the flammable limits ofnatural gas is very small.
So if you have a space and inthat space you have oxygen, in
(24:31):
order for natural gas to ignitethere needs to be five to 15% of
that.
So if it's less than 5% to 15%,it won't ignite, and if it's
too rich, so like if the spaceis filled with gas, it won't
ignite.
So it's a very, very smallwindow where gas has to exist in
a space for it to be flammable,and so it makes it extra safe,
(24:54):
right, but it doesn't mean thata room full of gas is safe,
because gas displaces oxygen.
So you don't want to ever be ina room that's full of gas
because you'll pass out, right,you don't want that.
But there's so many naturalsafety mechanisms or qualities
in place with natural gas thatmake it a pretty safe product.
Yeah, I'll take gas overelectricity, because you can't
(25:15):
see electricity and you can'tidentify it.
Aaron Pete (25:17):
That's fascinating.
I know that this isn't yourarea, but when you see the
massive infrastructure thatnatural gas takes, what's
running through your minds?
In regards to the safetycomponent, it's just unique
because you'll have a deeperunderstanding of some of that
infrastructure than our averageviewers would.
But just being able to toursome of the sites, it was very
(25:39):
humbling to realize the amountof work and the amount of
infrastructure it takes for usto have warm homes that we don't
really ever comprehend and wedon't go to these sites.
And then you think of thesafety procedures that have to
exist there.
Just from your perspective,when you've gotten to I'm sure
tour some of these sites andwork within some of these
buildings, what has yourresponse been to some of those
buildings and the infrastructure?
Ada Nadison (26:00):
it's easy to take that stuff for granted, right?
Yeah, a couple things.
One, it's amazing what humanscan do.
You know, just, theseinfrastructures didn't just pop
up out of nowhere.
There are people that werepassionate about the industry
and the topic and theircommunities that wanted to find
a way to essentially help powerour communities in a natural,
(26:23):
safe, reliable way, like powerour communities in a like a
natural, like safe, reliable way.
So that comes to mind.
And then another thing is that alot of um, our staff, that that
work in these facilities, thatmaintain them on a daily basis,
they're part of the communitytoo, right, so they live, work
and play there and um, they're,they have a deep, intrinsic kind
of passion and value formaintaining this infrastructure,
because it it also feeds gas totheir homes and their neighbors
(26:45):
homes and their kids school,and so I don't know it just, it
feels like you're part of you're, you're part of working at
these facilities is also being apart of you, the community that
you you live in.
Yeah, it's.
It's different than other jobs.
I don't know you, just, youknow that when you come home at
the end of the day, you didsomething to make sure your
house can do all the things itneeds to do so that it can be
(27:07):
your home.
Aaron Pete (27:08):
What is the safety culture at FortisBC?
Ada Nadison (27:11):
It's extremely high .
We're also regulated by so manydifferent bodies, depending on
the different types of work thatwe do.
It's in everything you knowpersonal safety procedures for
what we personal preparedness,clothing for what we wear when
we show up to work, check-insand security steps are in place
(27:33):
for access into certainbuildings.
There's integrity and assetmanagement on the engineering
side for, like the physicalinfrastructure, there's a lot of
cybersecurity that we have todo for just the different
technology that we use to trackand monitor the maintenance of
our gas and electricinfrastructure.
It's you can't.
(27:54):
You can't operate a utilitycompany without safety just
being at the core of every levelof what we do.
Aaron Pete (28:00):
Do you find it's intrinsic within the staff as
well?
Ada Nadison (28:04):
level of of what we do?
Do you find it's intrinsicwithin the staff as well?
Uh, especially operations?
Yeah, I mean, like any companyyou have, um, you have
individuals that you know likework in the office and do
administrative work.
The amount of safety that theyneed to focus on is not going to
be as strict or rigid as youknow people out there, yeah but
so it's.
There's different levels ofsafety depending on the
responsibility and scope oftheir role, but generally as a
company it's.
There's different levels ofsafety depending on the
responsibility and scope of therole, but generally as a company
(28:25):
it's it.
The company takes a lot ofpride in and just safety,
whether it be for our own staffor for the customers and the
general public.
Aaron Pete (28:33):
So I'm curious.
You started in criminology Idid as well and you take this
journey.
You go into 911 calling.
How do you?
What was the journey to Fortisfrom your perspective?
Uh like, how did you end up inthis, in this area?
Ada Nadison (28:47):
So yeah, so I did 911 and then um.
Throughout my career at 911, II progressed into like RCP,
dispatching and becoming thetraining specialist.
And when I moved into thedispatch role, um, there was a
lot more coordination involvedin the role than with 911.
As a call taker, you thedispatch role.
There was a lot morecoordination involved in the
role than with 911.
As a call taker you're takingcalls but as a dispatcher you're
(29:08):
part of larger scale kind ofresponse.
So when I was in that space Ilooked into other types of jobs
that require that kind ofcoordination because I found
that I excelled in coordination.
So that's when I heard about theemergency management program at
the Justice Institute ofBritish Columbia.
So I went and got thatcertification and ended up
(29:31):
working at the Justice Instituteof British Columbia and working
in the emergency managementdepartment and from there part
of my role was to work withdifferent utilities to design
exercises for their staff sothat they can practice their
emergency response plans and seehow it works, if there are any
opportunities for improvement.
So part of that role some ofthe clients that I worked with
(29:55):
were utility industry.
So that's where I got a littlebit of a sneak peek into that
utility space and I was like,okay, this is super fascinating.
You know, I've always beeninterested in critical
infrastructure and this rolekind of blends learning
something new with my passionfor public safety and a bit of
emergency management as well.
So it was, it's been aninteresting journey.
Aaron Pete (30:14):
That seems like it, because it's.
It's so interesting when you goin behind the scenes and start
to understand all of the facetsat play behind the scenes and
start to understand all of thefacets at play.
And then you talked aboutcoordinating.
What do you think stood out toyou about being able to
coordinate some of thoseprograms and some of the work?
Ada Nadison (30:31):
So you know there are some people that are like
specialists or like jack of alltrades, master of none.
I find, with coordinating youneed to definitely be like a
jack of all trades person.
You have to have a sense of allthe different pieces that exist
within an organization orcommunity that have to work
together to make somethingfunction.
(30:51):
So I love that.
I love knowing that whenthere's an incident, you have to
think about A, b, c, d, youhave to be making sure they're
all talking to each other, andthat you're thinking about the
needs of each of theseindividual like entities.
So, um, I feel like I have anatural propensity to be
empathetic and to, um kind ofjust see what's missing within,
(31:12):
like a certain organization'slike scope or person's like role
or life.
And I think that ability reallyhelps with public safety,
because you're able tocommunicate messaging in a way
that the person that you'retalking to will actually receive
it right, because you can'tcommunicate the same way with
everyone.
Everyone needs kind of aspecial hand, right.
Aaron Pete (31:31):
Exactly One of my favorite things about what
you've kind of described iswithin a healthy society, you
need people who are interestedin all different areas, that are
willing to want to cook thefood, want to make sure the
garbage is taken out, make sureso many different pieces of our
everyday life are taken care of,and we need people who are
focused on our safety and, asyou've described, sometimes we
(31:53):
can take them for granted Inemergencies.
We become much more aware ofour own safety concerns, and it
seems to me that you're a safetyleader and somebody who's
passionate about making surepeople are safe, and so I'm just
wondering how does that show upin your everyday life?
Like, is this something you seewhen you go out into the world
all the time, where you're like,oh, that's, that could be done
better?
Or how do you interact withthat in your personal life?
Ada Nadison (32:14):
That's really funny Cause I was talking to my
friend about this the other day,where I told her that it's June
and I've helped four peoplereplace a flat tire this year
Wow, because I travel a lot formy role too and I said I don't
know what it is, but I'm alwaysrunning into people that have
flat tires on the highway andshe goes no, no, no, you're not
(32:35):
running to them, you're alwaysseeing them.
People see them all the time,but nobody stops.
Right, that's true.
And I was like I didn't reallythink she's like you're the type
of person that will just like,because that's what you look for
, you notice it more, right, andI was like OK, so it is.
It definitely trickles into,like everything that I do, and
I'm like you know little thingstoo, if I'm out with friends and
you know, tell me when you gethome at the end of the day.
(32:56):
So I know you're good, right,like you walk through that front
door, um, just those check-ins,um, you know, um, making sure
that, um, I travel solo a lotfor my work, so just making sure
I have everything I need inplace.
I check in with my, my bossregularly or my team, so I don't
know it's just a part of.
It's hard not to.
I don't even like sitting at arestaurant with my back to the
(33:16):
door or the window.
Aaron Pete (33:17):
I want to be able to see what's coming everything
that's around I like that,because I think we're in a time
right now where people are hyperindependent, but I also feel
like people really want peopleto care about them, and so we're
in this weird time where peopleare like I just want to go do
my own thing, but what ifsomething still love me?
Well, exactly, and so I thinkthat's an important piece is
(33:40):
like when you are leaving a baror when you're doing something,
that you know people care aboutyou and that there's somebody
following up with you to makesure you're OK.
And I just think that's animportant thing for us all to
keep in mind is that we need tobe there for each other.
Even if we're not close to ourneighbors anymore, that's still
an important piece of ourculture that we should try and
preserve Absolutely Is thereanything else you'd like people
(34:06):
to know about Fortis safety?
Ada Nadison (34:11):
We are receptive to what works and what doesn't.
You know, we have a reallygreat team called the Street
Team.
I don't know if you've heard ofit, but they're staff that we
put into communities essentiallyso they learn a little bit
about all the different kind ofpieces of Fortis that customers
need to know about.
We show up at these publicevents with a Fortis tent.
(34:33):
So if anyone's ever seen aFortis tent, the people that man
, that tent or work there arecalled the street team and
they're there to just engagewith the public and learn what
the public has to say or hear.
If you ever um want tocommunicate with us, don't be
afraid to talk to anybody in thestreet team.
They collect that information.
It comes back to us.
We take that information, wefigure out how we can improve
(34:53):
our programs and enhance it.
Um, just making sure that thecommunity and the public feels
that we are a part of thesolution is really important to
us and we have great staff thatare super passionate about just
enhancing everything that we do.
So that would be my Amazing.
Aaron Pete (35:08):
How can people learn more?
Ada Nadison (35:09):
Well, there's a website, obviously, and we're on
social media.
We have Facebook and LinkedInand Instagram and yeah.
Aaron Pete (35:18):
Amazing.
Thank you so much, Ada, forwilling to join us today.
Ada Nadison (35:20):
Thank you for having me Appreciate it.
My name is Ada Natasson and I'm the Public
Safety Manager at FortisBC.
Electricity actually scares meway more than gas does, because
you can't give it a smell, youcan't see it.
Aaron Pete (00:16):
What is the safety culture at FortisBC?
Ada Nadison (00:19):
You can't operate a utility company without safety
just being at the core of everylevel of what we do.
You don't want to be the personthat didn't do your due
diligence and didn't getinformation and ending up, you
know, hitting a gas line that isproviding power to the local,
like hospital or the localelementary school or a care home
or nursing home.
Aaron Pete (00:36):
What do you think would be important for people
listening to this to understandabout safety when we think of
wildfires that are becoming verycommonplace?
How do municipalities andIndigenous communities respond
to this?
Ada Nadison (00:51):
The more education we can do and the more just
little reminders that we canthrow into their daily life.
It's just a little action thatthey can do daily to build that
habit.
Aaron Pete (00:58):
How do you make sure that Indigenous communities are
supported with some of thisimportant safety training?
Ada, thank you so much forbeing willing to join us today.
(01:24):
Would you mind firstintroducing yourself?
Ada Nadison (01:26):
Thanks, aaron.
Yeah, my name is Ada Nadisonand I'm the Public Safety
Manager at FortisBC.
Thanks for having me.
Aaron Pete (01:36):
It's my pleasure.
Ada Nadison (01:37):
Are you able to walk us through a bit about the
work that you do in relation toFortisBC?
Yeah, you bet.
So you know, when you thinkabout safety at a company,
especially with a utilitycompany where we have customers,
I would kind of break it downinto two pieces of safety.
So there's the safety of allthe staff that work at Fortis
and making sure they'refollowing all the safe work
procedures.
So that's like occupationalhealth and safety.
So I'd say that that's adifferent role with regards to
(01:59):
safety.
And then there's the safety ofall the individuals that
interact with our infrastructure, that don't work for the
company, so the general public,contractors, first responders.
So my position is to supportthe safety programs of everybody
outside of.
Aaron Pete (02:13):
Fortis.
What do you think people shouldunderstand about that area
specifically?
Ada Nadison (02:19):
Utilities are one of those things that people use
on a daily basis but they don'treally understand, kind of where
it comes from and how it works.
So it's a really interestingfield because it's an
opportunity to educate people ona resource that essentially
helps their daily lives functionon a daily basis.
Aaron Pete (02:36):
I find that really interesting and I've spoken in
the previous interviews aboutthis that it's such a need to
have natural gas in communities,in homes, during winter.
Most people end up havingsevere health issues if not
passing away during cold spellsnot during heat spells to the
same extent and so it is anincredibly important piece of
(02:59):
infrastructure that supportspeople in living their lives.
How have you reflected on thatthroughout your work and
understanding how big a rolethis plays in people's
day-to-day lives that they don'talways recognize is so crucial?
Ada Nadison (03:12):
I'm just going to do a bit about my background, I
guess.
So I spent many years workingfor 9-1-1.
So just public safety andworking in a field that protects
the public interest has alwaysbeen a big passion for mine.
So you know, working in 911 andwhenever there's a major
incident, part of thedecision-making that we do is to
(03:32):
look at the criticalinfrastructure that's in place
in a certain community and howthat's going to impact how
things go.
I also worked in emergencymanagement for several years as
well, which is where criticalinfrastructure is also a huge
part of that industry.
So just kind of through mycareer trajectory and just
seeing the importance of thingslike utilities and hospitals and
care centers and how they playa huge role in supporting the
(03:55):
community and making sure thecommunity can just function as
it is, made me very passionateabout moving towards working in
the utilities industry and thendoing the public safety Right.
Where did that?
Aaron Pete (04:03):
come from.
For you what specifically?
Being interested in publicsafety and emergency management
and caring about those types ofthings.
Ada Nadison (04:11):
I've always been a pretty empathetic person and
it's really important for me todo something with my life where
I wake up every morning and Ifeel like what I'm doing
contributes to society in someway even as a kid, so it was a
natural fit for me.
When I went to school, I chosea degree in criminology, I got
my certificate in police studiesand then I also got another
(04:32):
certificate in emergencymanagement, so I just need to
feel like I'm doing good everyday.
That's just very important towho I am as a person.
Aaron Pete (04:39):
Is there anything like an experience you had like,
like calling 911, where theyplayed some sort of role?
Or were your parents reallyinvolved in safety and community
like where?
Where do you think the impetuswas to go down that path?
Ada Nadison (04:54):
that's such an interesting question.
I've never been asked thatbefore.
If, when I think about it, mydad's always been, um, like a
stickler for safety he actuallyworks for work safe bc and he's
an incident investigator and hedid a lot of jobs in
occupational health and safetytoo.
So I think that safety culturewas just in my home growing up
(05:14):
and just making sure.
You know, he was the type ofperson that made sure things
were put away in the right place, because anything accidents can
happen, and so I think as a kidI was just exposed to just
being safe and it just trickledinto my adulthood.
Aaron Pete (05:27):
Yeah, cause one thing that you said I really
liked, and it was that, likethere should be a certain amount
of being able to live yourday-to-day life and not have to
worry about these things, andthat's that's a really
interesting comment, cause, likeI keep looking at it from this
perspective of like oh, there'sthese things that like play such
a crucial role in our life andwe don't understand them.
And your point is well takenthat like that's an important
(05:50):
piece of like a healthycivilization that we can trust
that people are managing.
And I was just walking throughmy community and they're doing
like research on the bugs in thearea and I was like, well, I'm
glad somebody's thinking aboutthat, because I'm certainly not
thinking about that and knowingthat there's somebody behind the
scenes managing these things.
we often hear about beingproactive and being reactive,
and the goal is always to bemore proactive than reactive.
(06:11):
How does that play a role insafety from your perspective?
Ada Nadison (06:14):
So it's really interesting talking about when
you were just mentioning howthere are people that are
essentially working behind thescenes to make sure things are
safe and operating well.
There's really two pieces tosafety and I've noticed this.
This is something I'd like to,a culture I'd like to shift.
I think in BC for me personally.
So there is because we live ina generally like privileged
(06:38):
society, people go about theirdaily lives not really worrying
about like we don't have war andwe don't have, you know, like
extreme poverty, like some otherplaces in the world, so people
don't think about the thingsthey need to do to keep
themselves alive, right,generally, there's a culture in
(07:01):
BC where individuals rely veryheavily onus on personal
preparedness, because whensomething big happens, these
resources are going toprioritize vulnerable
communities, vulnerablepopulations, and then the
average person is going to bevery low on the you know, on the
list of priorities.
But the average person thinksthat or is relying on these
(07:21):
agencies or these bodies to comein and save the day, so things
take longer.
So, to have a really healthycommunity, I think people really
need to focus on knowing whatthey need to do to keep
themselves safe.
Often, when it comes toemergency situations, the first
responders are actually yourneighbors.
It's not a first responder,right, because they have to get
to you first, right?
So the person that lives nextdoor, your friends and your
(07:43):
family, those are the peoplethat need to be able to be
self-sufficient and resilientenough to take care of each
other until that professionalhelp comes, if they can even get
there.
So with our public safetyprogram at Fortis, you know
there's a huge emphasis oneducation and just making sure
our customers are aware of youknow some of the risks
associated with the utility.
(08:03):
It's a very safe utility, butnothing is 100% foolproof.
So we want to make sure theyunderstand where things can go
wrong, how to identify issuesand then be able to take the
correct actions and steps tokeep themselves and their
neighbors and their communitysafe.
And then, in the event thatthese things don't all work out,
then that's when theprofessionals come in, whether
it be our technicians or thefirst responders, depending on
(08:24):
what the incident is.
So that's a long-winded answer.
Aaron Pete (08:28):
It's a really good answer because we had the 2021
atmospheric river and I thinkfor a period that woke a lot of
people up because all of asudden, two in the morning,
people are sandbagging a dike totry and stop it from breaking
and the communities comingtogether to try and address
things.
But for a period of time,chilliwack was very close to
being an island, and so was Hope, and we're not as prepared as I
(08:52):
think we should be.
But then, once the incident isover, it seems like we kind of
go back to normal and we kind oflike everybody knows you're
supposed to have like three daysworth of food or something like
that Minimum, minimum.
And yet, like, if you do go intomost people's homes, do they
actually have that?
Is it expired?
Are they maintaining it?
Does it seem like kind of aluxury to buy those things?
(09:13):
I think it often does forpeople.
So what are some of thebarriers you see to getting
people to take an interest ingetting educated and be the
individuals that are prepared?
Ada Nadison (09:19):
I think it's a human nature thing People have,
especially in today's societywhere, you know, like, cost of
living is high, stress is high,you know almost everybody in the
family has to work to, you know, to make ends meet.
There's limited capacity forwhat they're going to focus on
and prioritize and yourday-to-day living is always
going to take priority oversomething that might potentially
(09:40):
happen in the future and youdon't know if it's going to.
So that's definitely thestruggle that I find with safety
, because safety is justsomething I think about on a
daily basis.
It's always on the forefront ofmy mind, but it's not going to
be something that's on theforefront of the average
person's mind.
They have to worry about theirkids, their job, their, you know
, all these other things.
Safety kind of comes down at thebottom.
So the more education we can doand the more just little
(10:02):
reminders that we can throw intotheir kind of their daily life
to just and it doesn't have tobe something so big or an
overhaul of their life, it'sjust a little action that they
can do daily to build that habit.
I think that safety mindset isa is a habit that you have to
build, um, and it's in littlethings like it's.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe as um, as tangible as like
(10:23):
putting together like your kit,but it's, you know, like wearing
a seatbelt right, people neverwore seatbelts before.
And then you just slowly youenforce kind of a regulation,
and then it becomes a habit andnow almost nobody would get into
a car without putting aseatbelt on.
Aaron Pete (10:38):
So yeah, If we can zoom out, what are the larger
scale safety concerns that youhave to look over and monitor?
What are, when we're thinkingabout the infrastructure of
Fortis and these big tanksystems and everything going on
and all of it going intopeople's homes?
How does that all function andwhat are some of the safety
concerns at a high level thatare concerns?
Ada Nadison (10:58):
Yeah, so it's a pretty kind of complex process
or map.
It's a pretty kind of complexprocess or map.
So when it comes to ourinfrastructure, we have a really
amazing engineering operationsteam that are responsible for
maintaining the integrity of ourinfrastructure.
So that's outside of myparticular role, but I work very
closely with them in terms ofjust figuring out how I can
(11:18):
communicate any importantinformation on their end to the
general public.
So they do regular checks, theysurvey for gas leaks, for our
high pressure systems.
We even have helicoptersthat'll do aerial patrols to
identify any unauthorizedactivity along our pipeline.
So that's something thathappens on a daily basis on that
side.
And then there's the educationfor individuals that will
(11:42):
interact with our infrastructure, which is what I focus very
heavily on.
So we have our customers andhomeowners that are gas and
electric customers.
So any safety they need to knowaround having those utilities
in their home.
There are professionals thatwork around our infrastructure.
So excavators, constructionworkers, landscapers that might
dig around a gas line or do workaround a power line.
(12:03):
They need education on how todo that work safely around a gas
line or do work around a powerline.
They need education on how todo that work safely around a
utility, and then there's alsofirst responders that might
respond to an incident.
If there is an incident with,um whatever utility so, um, you
know, a downed power line what'sthe safe way for a police
officer or a firefighter torespond to an electric hazard or
, um, a gas leak, so thateverybody goes home at the end
(12:24):
of the day?
Aaron Pete (12:25):
Interesting.
Are you able to walk us throughat a high level how some of
those things would be approachedor communicated out in regards
to gas leaks and downed powerlines?
Ada Nadison (12:35):
Yeah, so for gas leaks, for, like, a residential
customer or the general publicor community, there's the kind
of the basic safety messaging sowhat natural gas smells like?
Well, natural gas actuallydoesn't have a smell.
We put a kind of smell, you adda smell in, we add a smell.
Yeah, it's called mercaptan.
So it's that rotten egg smellthat you hear about as a kid.
So just that education goingout, if you smell that it means
(12:58):
there's a natural gas leak andthen make sure you leave the
area that you're in because gascan displace oxygen and then it
would lead to asphyxiation.
So just that general messaging.
So you know, get out, call 911,call the FortisBC emergency
line.
So there's that piece and thenthere's the education piece
around any kind of digging orground disturbance where there
is gas.
So our infrastructure runseverywhere, like it is all over
(13:22):
the community.
So we have a big campaign forthe BC One Call.
I don't know if you've heard ofBC One Call.
Yeah, but it's a freeprovincial service where if
anyone is planning to do anykind of disturbance to the
ground, they can go to theirwebsite or call that number.
And BC One Call is essentiallylike this company or this
(13:44):
nonprofit organization that hasdifferent utilities that are
members of it.
So, for example, if you want todo work in your yard, you go to
that website and you highlightan area on the map with where
you want to do work.
Bc One Call will have thatinformation and go okay, well,
in this space.
There's Fortis Gas, there's BCHydro, there's sewage, there's
(14:06):
TELUS you knowtelecommunications.
So it sends a message out toall the different utilities that
own infrastructure in thatspace and then it's the
responsibility of each utilityto send a map of where their
infrastructure is to whoeverrequested the locate information
from BC One call.
So we send them a map of whereour gas lines are.
(14:29):
The map has instructions on howto dig in a safe way so that
you don't hit a gas line, andthat's a huge piece of our
campaign as well.
So that goes out to homeownersand professionals like
construction workers that dowork.
Aaron Pete (14:42):
But you're saying that's a separate company.
I didn't know that.
I always assumed because it's acall before you dig I always
assumed that that was like anarm of Fortis or something.
You're saying that's a separateorganization.
Ada Nadison (14:51):
It's a separate entity.
It's not for profit?
Yeah, and differentmunicipalities, different
utilities are all members of it.
Aaron Pete (15:00):
How long does it take to get all of that
information?
Ada Nadison (15:02):
You should put in your request about three
business days before you start.
So Fortis has a really fastturnaround time.
We'll usually get you the mapwithin three days.
Aaron Pete (15:10):
Wow, that's a lot of information because you have to
think there's constructiongoing on every day across all of
British Columbia and obviouslyacross Canada, but like across
British Columbia, where peoplewould be making that call and
asking for that information.
Ada Nadison (15:26):
Yeah, and it's a legal requirement too for
construction workers.
Construction workers, like, ifyou're doing any kind of this
the minute you put something inthe ground, you're not allowed
to do that before you do yourone call and you get that, that
mapping information for all thedifferent utilities that are
that are there, yeah,interesting.
Aaron Pete (15:40):
So it's now click and call before, or click or
call before you dig, so you'reable to request that online now.
Ada Nadison (15:46):
Yes, most people do it online now.
I mean with you know, with theshift in technology used to be
phone calls, but now everyonelikes to go on a computer and
just type in what you need to doand submit that information.
Aaron Pete (16:02):
That's awesome.
What do you think would beimportant for people listening
to this to understand aboutsafety in regards to their home
and how they operate with gaslines?
Ada Nadison (16:09):
So the underground utility infrastructure highway,
I guess, literally makes yourcommunity function.
Uh, and you don't want to bethe person that didn't do your
due diligence and then getinformation and then ended up
ending up, you know, hitting agas line.
That maybe is um providingpower to the local, like
hospital or the local elementaryschool or a care home or a
nursing home.
(16:29):
You don't know where theselines go and what buildings
they're feeding, and theresponse to repair a line can
take hours.
So depending on the time ofyear too, like if it's a very
cold time of year or a very hottime of year where they're
relying on it for cooling, Imean, you just don't want to.
You know you're doing it forthe safety of yourself, but also
for the safety of yourcommunity.
(16:49):
I think there's a civilianresponsibility there to follow
safe procedures whenever they'redoing any kind of work around
utility infrastructure.
Aaron Pete (16:59):
That some contractors haven't followed BC
code, bc building code andmunicipal code on developments.
How do you make sure thatIndigenous communities are
supported with some of thisimportant safety training?
Ada Nadison (17:20):
That's a great question.
So part of my program is toprovide free training to
professionals that do any kindof ground disturbance.
So I work really closely with acolleague in the damage
prevention sphere at Fortis andthen we put on a free session in
that community that anybody cancome and attend, including
(17:59):
Indigenous communities andIndigenous contractors.
I've also mentioned to youearlier that I'm about 11 months
into this role, so still kindof building the program.
But I've looked into differentassociations that Indigenous
contractors are a part of.
So my plan for next year is toreach out to some of these
associations and hostIndigenous-specific training
(18:21):
sessions as well.
So Indigenouscontractor-specific training
sessions.
Aaron Pete (18:25):
Interesting.
I'm wondering if we can stay onthat line of thinking when we
think of wildfires that arebecoming very commonplace.
How do municipalities andIndigenous communities respond
to this?
With gas lines in the area,what does that look like?
Ada Nadison (18:42):
So it's very much like a collaborative effort.
When there's a wildfire,emergency professionals will
meet regularly, you know,regularly through whether it be
through like an emergencyoperations center or regular
coordination call meetings.
So we have a team at Fortisthat is the community indigenous
(19:02):
relations team as well.
So in the event of an activewildfire there would be a
representative from Fortisemergency management, someone
from our community indigenousrelations team, someone from the
local like band or whoever's umlike responsible for emergency
management for that community aswell as the um, somebody from
um like the local like authority, so that the city where the
(19:23):
wildfire might be, and the bcwildfire service.
So there's, there's a lot ofcoordination and communication
that happens during response toan incident um, and and that
conversation happens to.
That conversation happens tohelp us determine, maybe areas
of priority where we should turnoff gas or evacuate.
But Fortis doesn't do theevacuation, but we are part of
the conversation so that we knowwhat areas might be evacuated
(19:45):
so that we would have to shutoff power or gas to those areas.
Aaron Pete (19:48):
Is that relatively easy to do?
To go like okay, this area islike a wildfire setting this way
, just switch it off.
Like is that—that sounds simple, but is it more complicated
behind the scenes to—.
Ada Nadison (20:00):
We have a pretty impressive kind of like—what's
the word I'm looking for?
Like we have a room with allthese monitors.
That monitors like the pressureof the gas and our different
lines throughout the, throughoutthe province, like it's.
Our technology is prettyimpressive, like turning off the
power or is way easier thanturning it back on.
(20:20):
Okay, yeah, because when youturn it back on, we have to go
and actually assess ourinfrastructure to make sure that
it's not damaged and it's safe,and there's like the physical
relighting of of our gas.
Yeah, but turning it off iseasy.
Aaron Pete (20:34):
Turning it off is easy.
Can you walk me through alittle bit more of the turning
it back on process, because thatseems really interesting, that
that's actually one of thechallenges.
Ada Nadison (20:42):
Because you have to relight, so we have to go to
every residence that has gas andwe have to.
Our technician has to go andactually relight the gas and
make sure, like the meter is notcompromised, it's in good
condition, so yeah, and there'sno leaking or anything like that
.
So it takes hours.
Depending on how many customersare without gas, it can take a
long time for-.
Aaron Pete (21:00):
If you have like 2,000, 10,000, if you have a
whole city that's being impactedby a wildfire, that's a lot of
manpower.
Ada Nadison (21:07):
It is a lot of manpower, and I mean it's not
just the relighting, but it'salso making sure the
infrastructure is still in goodshape, right Like nothing needs
to be replaced.
Aaron Pete (21:17):
How does that work when they're underground, like,
what's the—?
We dig it up.
You have to dig it up.
Yeah, I would imagine in somecases you would be able to—I
don't know how would you doublecheck, like, because you
couldn't—for like, say, a wholesubdivision is without.
How would you check every home?
Ada Nadison (21:33):
So our system can also detect where there's leaks.
You know if the pressure haschanged, because all our pipes
run under different pressuredepending if it's a distribution
pipe or a transmission highpressure pipe.
So we know what pressure thegas is supposed to be flowing
within these pipes.
So we have technology thatmonitors that pressure.
(21:55):
We also have really sensitivemethane detectors that can
detect, like, if there's gascoming out of the ground where
it shouldn't be, because itshould be sealed in the pipe.
So we have a whole bunch ofkind of engineering technology
to figure out if things arefunctioning as they should.
And then if we come into anarea where it's like, okay, our
detector's detecting like gas,like leaking, then we'll, you
know, know we might have to shutit down.
Aaron Pete (22:15):
Shut it down, dig a hole, repair chunks of the pipe
that might be compromised, andso there's yeah, there's a whole
team that does that if I had toguess, I feel like a lot more
people are more, moreunderstanding of bc hydro,
because it's, on its face, makessense, like we all learned
about, like uh, hydroelectricdams when we were a kid or got
(22:37):
to go see one.
So it's it's more, I think,commonly known and it's visual.
Yeah, it's above ground, rightexactly whereas natural gas is
often, I feel like even I don'tfully understand it, because
it's out of sight, out of mindwe're the invisible heroes
exactly so can you walk usthrough like I feel?
like I feel I would think thatnatural gas is less safe because
(22:58):
I understand it less.
That doesn't mean it is lesssafe, it's just my ability to
comprehend the safety process,for that would be lower.
Obviously, when you drive pastlike a hydro line that's down
you, you know danger and so I'mwondering is when you came into
Fortis and started learningabout natural gas and how it
works and the safety proceduresand everything, is it as safe?
(23:21):
How do you digest the safety ofnatural gas in comparison to
something like hydro?
I love that question.
Ada Nadison (23:26):
I actually think natural gas is really safe
because even though, yes, youcan see power lines and ford, it
does have electricity as well.
Right, so you can see, visually, see, the power lines.
Electricity it's the power line, is not the the hazard, it's
the electricity, and electricityis invisible.
You can't see that.
So electricity actually scaresme way more than gas does,
(23:47):
because you can't give it asmell, you can't see it, you
don't know where it's flowing orcharging, you don't know where
you're going to go before youget electrocuted.
It terrifies me, right?
Natural gas is invisible, butwe can put a lot of safety
mechanisms in place so that it'sidentifiable, so that mercaptan
, that smell, you can smellnatural gas.
You can hear it because of thepressure that it flows through
(24:09):
the pipe.
So if you puncture the pipe,you're going to hear, you're
going to hear like a tire iswhat?
30, 35 PSI, or distributionlines can be like 60 to 80.
You will hear that sound, right, so at least you have, you can
identify there's some kind ofrisk present.
Also, the flammable limits ofnatural gas is very small.
So if you have a space and inthat space you have oxygen, in
(24:31):
order for natural gas to ignitethere needs to be five to 15% of
that.
So if it's less than 5% to 15%,it won't ignite, and if it's
too rich, so like if the spaceis filled with gas, it won't
ignite.
So it's a very, very smallwindow where gas has to exist in
a space for it to be flammable,and so it makes it extra safe,
(24:54):
right, but it doesn't mean thata room full of gas is safe,
because gas displaces oxygen.
So you don't want to ever be ina room that's full of gas
because you'll pass out, right,you don't want that.
But there's so many naturalsafety mechanisms or qualities
in place with natural gas thatmake it a pretty safe product.
Yeah, I'll take gas overelectricity, because you can't
(25:15):
see electricity and you can'tidentify it.
Aaron Pete (25:17):
That's fascinating.
I know that this isn't yourarea, but when you see the
massive infrastructure thatnatural gas takes, what's
running through your minds?
In regards to the safetycomponent, it's just unique
because you'll have a deeperunderstanding of some of that
infrastructure than our averageviewers would.
But just being able to toursome of the sites, it was very
(25:39):
humbling to realize the amountof work and the amount of
infrastructure it takes for usto have warm homes that we don't
really ever comprehend and wedon't go to these sites.
And then you think of thesafety procedures that have to
exist there.
Just from your perspective,when you've gotten to I'm sure
tour some of these sites andwork within some of these
buildings, what has yourresponse been to some of those
buildings and the infrastructure?
Ada Nadison (26:00):
it's easy to take that stuff for granted, right?
Yeah, a couple things.
One, it's amazing what humanscan do.
You know, just, theseinfrastructures didn't just pop
up out of nowhere.
There are people that werepassionate about the industry
and the topic and theircommunities that wanted to find
a way to essentially help powerour communities in a natural,
(26:23):
safe, reliable way, like powerour communities in a like a
natural, like safe, reliable way.
So that comes to mind.
And then another thing is that alot of um, our staff, that that
work in these facilities, thatmaintain them on a daily basis,
they're part of the communitytoo, right, so they live, work
and play there and um, they're,they have a deep, intrinsic kind
of passion and value formaintaining this infrastructure,
because it it also feeds gas totheir homes and their neighbors
(26:45):
homes and their kids school,and so I don't know it just, it
feels like you're part of you're, you're part of working at
these facilities is also being apart of you, the community that
you you live in.
Yeah, it's.
It's different than other jobs.
I don't know you, just, youknow that when you come home at
the end of the day, you didsomething to make sure your
house can do all the things itneeds to do so that it can be
(27:07):
your home.
Aaron Pete (27:08):
What is the safety culture at FortisBC?
Ada Nadison (27:11):
It's extremely high .
We're also regulated by so manydifferent bodies, depending on
the different types of work thatwe do.
It's in everything you knowpersonal safety procedures for
what we personal preparedness,clothing for what we wear when
we show up to work, check-insand security steps are in place
(27:33):
for access into certainbuildings.
There's integrity and assetmanagement on the engineering
side for, like the physicalinfrastructure, there's a lot of
cybersecurity that we have todo for just the different
technology that we use to trackand monitor the maintenance of
our gas and electricinfrastructure.
It's you can't.
(27:54):
You can't operate a utilitycompany without safety just
being at the core of every levelof what we do.
Aaron Pete (28:00):
Do you find it's intrinsic within the staff as
well?
Ada Nadison (28:04):
level of of what we do?
Do you find it's intrinsicwithin the staff as well?
Uh, especially operations?
Yeah, I mean, like any companyyou have, um, you have
individuals that you know likework in the office and do
administrative work.
The amount of safety that theyneed to focus on is not going to
be as strict or rigid as youknow people out there, yeah but
so it's.
There's different levels ofsafety depending on the
responsibility and scope oftheir role, but generally as a
company it's.
There's different levels ofsafety depending on the
responsibility and scope of therole, but generally as a company
(28:25):
it's it.
The company takes a lot ofpride in and just safety,
whether it be for our own staffor for the customers and the
general public.
Aaron Pete (28:33):
So I'm curious.
You started in criminology Idid as well and you take this
journey.
You go into 911 calling.
How do you?
What was the journey to Fortisfrom your perspective?
Uh like, how did you end up inthis, in this area?
Ada Nadison (28:47):
So yeah, so I did 911 and then um.
Throughout my career at 911, II progressed into like RCP,
dispatching and becoming thetraining specialist.
And when I moved into thedispatch role, um, there was a
lot more coordination involvedin the role than with 911.
As a call taker, you thedispatch role.
There was a lot morecoordination involved in the
role than with 911.
As a call taker you're takingcalls but as a dispatcher you're
(29:08):
part of larger scale kind ofresponse.
So when I was in that space Ilooked into other types of jobs
that require that kind ofcoordination because I found
that I excelled in coordination.
So that's when I heard about theemergency management program at
the Justice Institute ofBritish Columbia.
So I went and got thatcertification and ended up
(29:31):
working at the Justice Instituteof British Columbia and working
in the emergency managementdepartment and from there part
of my role was to work withdifferent utilities to design
exercises for their staff sothat they can practice their
emergency response plans and seehow it works, if there are any
opportunities for improvement.
So part of that role some ofthe clients that I worked with
(29:55):
were utility industry.
So that's where I got a littlebit of a sneak peek into that
utility space and I was like,okay, this is super fascinating.
You know, I've always beeninterested in critical
infrastructure and this rolekind of blends learning
something new with my passionfor public safety and a bit of
emergency management as well.
So it was, it's been aninteresting journey.
Aaron Pete (30:14):
That seems like it, because it's.
It's so interesting when you goin behind the scenes and start
to understand all of the facetsat play behind the scenes and
start to understand all of thefacets at play.
And then you talked aboutcoordinating.
What do you think stood out toyou about being able to
coordinate some of thoseprograms and some of the work?
Ada Nadison (30:31):
So you know there are some people that are like
specialists or like jack of alltrades, master of none.
I find, with coordinating youneed to definitely be like a
jack of all trades person.
You have to have a sense of allthe different pieces that exist
within an organization orcommunity that have to work
together to make somethingfunction.
(30:51):
So I love that.
I love knowing that whenthere's an incident, you have to
think about A, b, c, d, youhave to be making sure they're
all talking to each other, andthat you're thinking about the
needs of each of theseindividual like entities.
So, um, I feel like I have anatural propensity to be
empathetic and to, um kind ofjust see what's missing within,
(31:12):
like a certain organization'slike scope or person's like role
or life.
And I think that ability reallyhelps with public safety,
because you're able tocommunicate messaging in a way
that the person that you'retalking to will actually receive
it right, because you can'tcommunicate the same way with
everyone.
Everyone needs kind of aspecial hand, right.
Aaron Pete (31:31):
Exactly One of my favorite things about what
you've kind of described iswithin a healthy society, you
need people who are interestedin all different areas, that are
willing to want to cook thefood, want to make sure the
garbage is taken out, make sureso many different pieces of our
everyday life are taken care of,and we need people who are
focused on our safety and, asyou've described, sometimes we
(31:53):
can take them for granted Inemergencies.
We become much more aware ofour own safety concerns, and it
seems to me that you're a safetyleader and somebody who's
passionate about making surepeople are safe, and so I'm just
wondering how does that show upin your everyday life?
Like, is this something you seewhen you go out into the world
all the time, where you're like,oh, that's, that could be done
better?
Or how do you interact withthat in your personal life?
Ada Nadison (32:14):
That's really funny Cause I was talking to my
friend about this the other day,where I told her that it's June
and I've helped four peoplereplace a flat tire this year
Wow, because I travel a lot formy role too and I said I don't
know what it is, but I'm alwaysrunning into people that have
flat tires on the highway andshe goes no, no, no, you're not
(32:35):
running to them, you're alwaysseeing them.
People see them all the time,but nobody stops.
Right, that's true.
And I was like I didn't reallythink she's like you're the type
of person that will just like,because that's what you look for
, you notice it more, right, andI was like OK, so it is.
It definitely trickles into,like everything that I do, and
I'm like you know little thingstoo, if I'm out with friends and
you know, tell me when you gethome at the end of the day.
(32:56):
So I know you're good, right,like you walk through that front
door, um, just those check-ins,um, you know, um, making sure
that, um, I travel solo a lotfor my work, so just making sure
I have everything I need inplace.
I check in with my, my bossregularly or my team, so I don't
know it's just a part of.
It's hard not to.
I don't even like sitting at arestaurant with my back to the
(33:16):
door or the window.
Aaron Pete (33:17):
I want to be able to see what's coming everything
that's around I like that,because I think we're in a time
right now where people are hyperindependent, but I also feel
like people really want peopleto care about them, and so we're
in this weird time where peopleare like I just want to go do
my own thing, but what ifsomething still love me?
Well, exactly, and so I thinkthat's an important piece is
(33:40):
like when you are leaving a baror when you're doing something,
that you know people care aboutyou and that there's somebody
following up with you to makesure you're OK.
And I just think that's animportant thing for us all to
keep in mind is that we need tobe there for each other.
Even if we're not close to ourneighbors anymore, that's still
an important piece of ourculture that we should try and
preserve Absolutely Is thereanything else you'd like people
(34:06):
to know about Fortis safety?
Ada Nadison (34:11):
We are receptive to what works and what doesn't.
You know, we have a reallygreat team called the Street
Team.
I don't know if you've heard ofit, but they're staff that we
put into communities essentiallyso they learn a little bit
about all the different kind ofpieces of Fortis that customers
need to know about.
We show up at these publicevents with a Fortis tent.
(34:33):
So if anyone's ever seen aFortis tent, the people that man
, that tent or work there arecalled the street team and
they're there to just engagewith the public and learn what
the public has to say or hear.
If you ever um want tocommunicate with us, don't be
afraid to talk to anybody in thestreet team.
They collect that information.
It comes back to us.
We take that information, wefigure out how we can improve
(34:53):
our programs and enhance it.
Um, just making sure that thecommunity and the public feels
that we are a part of thesolution is really important to
us and we have great staff thatare super passionate about just
enhancing everything that we do.
So that would be my Amazing.
Aaron Pete (35:08):
How can people learn more?
Ada Nadison (35:09):
Well, there's a website, obviously, and we're on
social media.
We have Facebook and LinkedInand Instagram and yeah.
Aaron Pete (35:18):
Amazing.
Thank you so much, Ada, forwilling to join us today.
Ada Nadison (35:20):
Thank you for having me Appreciate it.
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