Washington County gives sneak peek of new emergency operations center on South Campus

Washington County Judge Patrick Dickens and Director of Emergency Management John Luther led a tour of the county’s newly constructed emergency operations center on South Campus, describing spaces intended to support first responders, county staff and outside agency partners during planned events and disasters.

The facility includes a public foyer and conference room, staff offices, locker and shower space, a maintenance bay with washers and dryers, a chow hall with refrigeration and cooking capacity, a divisible training room and a hardened operations area with a video wall and backup communications capabilities, officials said.

“Over the past year, Washington County has made some significant investments in our infrastructure and how we're gonna support you through public safety and emergency response,” Judge Patrick Dickens said at the start of the tour.

John Luther, director of emergency management, described the foyer as “the place where you'll come in and be greeted and welcomed in, to do business here, whether it be training, whether it be business with us in our offices, whether it be in the emergency operation center during a time of disaster.” He said the space is intended to be a point of partnership for communities across Washington County.

Amber Ford, emergency operations center manager and administrative executive for the Department of Emergency Management, said the conference room will support day-to-day operations, internal staff meetings and external meetings. “The space we're in right now is our conference room. This will allow for day to day operations meetings, internal staff or external to come and meet and have 1 central space to work out of,” Ford said. She noted there are three offices along one wall and additional office space on the opposite side.

Officials highlighted support spaces intended for extended activations. Ford and other staff described locker rooms with showers and storage to accommodate overnight operations and decontamination of gear or people. Kyle Curry, outreach and preparedness coordinator, described the maintenance bay as an area where the county can “bring our vehicles in for large amounts of ... supplies and equipment, clean them up, work on them, get them ready.” He said washers and dryers will allow cleaning of gear on site.

County staff said the chow hall includes refrigeration, a freezer, stove and serving area so the facility can provide food during multi-day activations. “We’re fully able to operate for several days, and be self sufficient in this area as far as chow goes,” Curry said.

Officials identified a training room that can be divided into two spaces for simultaneous events such as rural fire meetings, storm-spotter classes and CPR training. Curry described it as a space he hopes will be “absolutely worn out in a short amount of time because we've used it so often.”

The tour moved into the facility’s hardened side, which Washington County described as the operations center that will house communications systems and serve as a secure place to work during adverse conditions. Willie Watts, field operations director, said the hardened facility is where the county will run “all of our communications, all of our emergency operations, communication devices.”

In the operations room officials said a video wall will display maps, radar, satellite or spreadsheet information during incidents. Luther said the hardening also includes a backup communication center for the county. “So in the event there's a catastrophic failure at 1 of the communication centers, they'll be able to relocate to this facility and be able to take off, with normal day to day operations,” he said, and added that Fayetteville is supplying some equipment to support that capability.

Officials noted finishing work remains, including installation of a raised (false) floor in part of the operations room and final outfitting of offices and conference spaces. At the end of the tour, Judge Dickens closed with a public-facing remark: “But always remember this, we're not here to serve our fellow citizens of Washington County. We're here to serve our neighbors. So Washington County, pardon our progress.”

County officials characterized the visit as a preview; they did not announce an opening date, budget figures or funding sources during the tour.