It started, like all good ideas do, in a cramped office over a cup of coffee simply thinking about ways to improve the link between emergency services and the private sector in response to potential emergencies. In the spring of 2006 this was the launching point for the development of the South Area Facilities and Entertainment Group or SAFE Group. The SAFE group,in its current form, is composed of the CN Tower, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Air Canada Centre (ACC), Union Station, Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), Canada Lands Company, and the Rogers Centre.

The members of the SAFE group share a common connection in that they all provide entertainment and hospitality services to large numbers of people in these facilities or are the support companies for them. The purpose of the SAFE Group is to collectively share information,network, and test the corporate crisis response and management systems in conjunction with municipal response agencies.

Although fully endorsed by the city’s emergency services now, there were difficult times at first. “In the beginning, there were large obstacles to overcome when attempting to get buy in from the public sector,”says Javier Sanzsole of the CN Tower and chairman of the SAFE Group. “The concerns come down to resources,what’s your group about, and are you a flash in the pan? There are limited public resources to support endeavours like this but I think at the beginning, because I was persistent, had a plan, and a strong commitment from the community it almost forced the services, the OEM, Toronto Fire,Toronto Police Services,EMS,to really take a serious look at us. It has taken time to build up the level of mutual trust but the relationships between the public and private sectors have dramatically improved to both sides’ advantage.”


Things have come a long way in a short time. From the tumultuous early days to a key note welcome from the Manager of the Office of Emergency Management, and a visit from special guest Remedial Measures Specialist from Transport Canada at the most recent exercise, things are looking up for this grass roots organization. Although all of the members’ hard work is what keeps this organization steaming ahead, Sanzsole should be singled out for his continued efforts in the development of the SAFE Group. It takes quite a lot of courage to push for the development of an industry leading program amidst a cacophony of naysayers, but all of the hard work has paid off.