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Stafford to upgrade Emergency Operations Center after congressional appropriation
Summary
City officials say a congressional appropriation will fund upgrades to the Emergency Operations Center, moving systems from analog to digital, adding a video wall, and improving pandemic-era operations and situational awareness.
The City of Stafford plans to upgrade its Emergency Operations Center after receiving a direct appropriation from Congress, officials said.
City officials say the upgrade will modernize communications and situational awareness tools used to manage storms and other incidents. Fire Chief Larry DeCamillo, who described the center's role, said the funding was secured through an appropriation tied to U.S. Rep. Al Green.
"The Emergency Operations Center for the City of Stafford...is designated as specifically designed to where the heads of the respective departments of the city, city government can come together to collect information, determine plans, and, overall manage incidents that affect the city," DeCamillo said, describing the center's mission. He said the center will be reconfigured to allow for pandemic-era isolation between staff, transition from analog to digital networking and communications, and to include a large video wall for improved situational awareness.
DeCamillo noted the EOC's historical use for weather events, saying the longest continuous activation he recalled was during Hurricane Harvey: "I believe it was up for 10 or 11 days, continuous operations." He also distinguished a different activation for a separate storm, saying the EOC was activated for 48 hours for that event. He described the EOC as a "clearinghouse for information" that supports field personnel in fire, police and public works through an "ESF format" of responsibilities.
Officials also said the EOC uses the city's AM emergency notification radio channel, "AM 11 60," to push weather alerts and precautionary messages. DeCamillo said the upgrades will allow the city to better coordinate department heads and maintain operations during extended incidents.
The city did not provide a construction or installation timeline in the remarks recorded on the program. DeCamillo said the appropriation will pay for reconfiguration and technology upgrades but did not specify contract dates or the vendor selected.
