A BEACON IN THE STORM: Emergency Operations Centers
Wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding—as severe weather becomes the norm, how are high-risk communities preparing for the worst?
From unprecedented high temperatures to devastating wildfires, the summer of 2023 brought on some of the most extreme weather we’ve seen in decades. As local government grapples with what seems to be the new norm, the role of emergency operations centers (EOCs) has become even more critical to communities around the globe. With decades of experience building EOCs throughout Florida and Georgia, Ajax Building Company explains the how these critical buildings are designed, built, and operated.
EOC FUNCTION An Emergency Operations Center is a facility designed to assist in an emergency. Depending on the region and risks, these structures are purpose-built to get the community it serves back to normal as quickly as possible. During “activation,” or the EOC’s response procedures during a potential emergency event, representatives from private and public entities come together to manage the many aspects of an emergency situation. From the power and communication companies to medical services, the fire department, and law enforcement, it’s an all-hands-on-deck approach to help the community recover.
“
he people who operate out of these facilities are T the boots on the ground in an emergency,” says Bill Byrne, CEO of Ajax. “The role of an EOC is to help them facilitate a return to normal, so getting businesses back up and running, getting people back in their homes, and getting kids back in schools.”
TAILORED SOLUTIONS From multidisciplinary command centers and 911 dispatch to independent data centers and media-focused areas with remote connections, the services required to streamline an emergency response while maintaining communication between officials and residents can be extensive. So, what determines the kinds of services each county includes in their EOC? The size and scale of each county’s EOC depends on a few factors, but two primary considerations are the size of the community the EOC serves and the kinds of threats it faces. In Florida, hurricanes are typically the biggest concern, but in communities like Monroe County, which includes the islands of the Florida Keys, extreme tidal surge and flooding are also serious risks. “Every county has a different perspective of what they need to get out of their emergency operations center,” says Jordan Wise, Ajax operations manager. “Monroe is a smaller county by comparison to middle of the state, but their EOC project has been more complex due to the area’s environmental factors.” An EOC’s day-to-day function also depends—some municipalities may opt to run their entire sheriff’s department out of their EOC, and those buildings operate much like a typical office building would outside of activation. Others may house just 10 to 15 employees outside of activation, and as many as 200 professionals during an emergency event.
MASTERING COMPLEXITY Building these integral structures is no walk in the park but having been involved in some of the most complex and active EOCs in the 24 | Issue 3 2023 STOBG Insights
