Notes on the Science of Extreme Situations, Paper No. 11
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER FIELD STUDY - PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND
by Lillian Brown
Copyright 2003 by Lillian Brown. All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce
copies for instructional use and individual copies for personal use as needed is
granted to University faculty, researchers, and students.
INTRODUCTION:
(1) The Prince George's County Emergency Operations Center is located in the
Cranford/Graves Fire Services Building at 6820 Webster Street in Landover Hills,
Maryland. The Office of Emergency Management, which manages the Emergency
Operations Center, is an office of the Department of Fire/Emergency Medical
Services (Prince George County 2003). Administratively, the Office of Emergency
Management reports to the Director of Public Safety.
ACCESS:
(2) On a day-to-day basis the Fire Department's Operations Center monitors
access to the building 24 hours a day. This security is increased when the
Emergency Operations Center is activated with all entrances to the building
being locked, and personnel reporting for assignment must pass through a
security checkpoint.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
(3) The Emergency Operations Center is located above ground and occupies
approximately 60% of the floor space of the first level of the building.
Excluding the administrative work spaces of the Office of Emergency Management,
there are five work rooms designated for emergency operations: Mini Operations,
Executive, Policy, Planning, and Operations. All the rooms are equipped with
computers, cable hookups, telephones, and 24 hour clocks.
(4) Mini Operations provides 6 cubicle work stations for staff from other
agencies. Located immediately outside of the staff offices of the Office
of Emergency Management, this area is appropriate for small events such as
hostage situations and water main breaks. When operational, Mini
Operations would be staffed by a skeletal staff of 2 to 5 persons.
(5) The Executive room can accommodate up to 30 people, and is furnished with a
large oval table. Staffing of the Executive room is determined at the discretion
of the County Executive. The Policy room accommodates the 6 most senior
non-elected administrators around a large rectangular table. And the
Planning room seats 27 department heads in a traditional classroom seating
pattern.
(6) The heart of the Emergency Operations Center, the Operations room, is the
largest of all the rooms. When the Emergency Operations Center is fully
activated, this room can accommodate more than 100 people. The room is
organized around clusters of 4 tables. Even though each cluster has four tables,
only two laptops and two telephones are placed on the tables because most
personnel bring their cell phones and laptops. Two extra telephones and
laptops are held in reserve in a rollaway cabinet adjacent to each cluster of
tables. The cabinets also hold copies of Emergency Operation Plan, standard
operating procedures, and checklists, as well as other essential supplies.
Suspended over these cluster of tables are cable hookups.
(7) Mounted from the ceiling in each of the four corners of the room is a television, allowing staff to view current news media reports from anywhere in the room. In the front of the room is a projection screen that can be used to show the latest status. And some ability to see what is happening outside the Operations room is provided by one wall being lined with windows.
(8) Each agency has a designated position in
the room, as shown in Figure 1. A name plate
with the agency's name is placed at that agency's workstation. There is also a
seating chart on display immediately outside the Operations room. Tables 2
and 5 are reserved to allow expansion of the number of agencies or the size of
the staff; also available are additional telephones and cable hookups.
OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS:
(9) Based on their assessment of conditions, the Chief Administrator, Deputy
Chief Administrators, Police Chief, or Fire Chief can activate the Emergency
Operations Center, subject to final approval by the County Executive. When
the Emergency Operations Center is fully operational, the number of agency
personnel involved ranges from 50 to 100. The agencies involved are listed on
the seating chart (see Figure 1).
(10) A status summary, or running tally of what is actually occurring at the
incident site, including photos, is displayed on a scrolling screen. A scribe
sits in the back of the room feeding the information received from the incident
command post into a laptop. All information received is not displayed on the
screen; some information goes directly to an agency representative.
(11) When the Emergency Operations Center is fully activated the recording of
all incoming messages is handled by the Communications Center located in the
alternate Emergency Operations Center. Otherwise, the Fire Department's
Operations Center handles communications. The Policy, Executive, Planning,
and Operation rooms are completely closed off from each other; therefore,
internal communications among the staff is handled by runners. Primary external
communications are conducted by telephone; other devices used include public
safety radios and fax machines.
SURVIVABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY:
(12) For backup communications, the Emergency Operations Center uses the
services of volunteers from the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services and
Amateur Radio Emergency Services. The Radio room adjoins the administrative
offices of the Office of Emergency Management, with 6 cubicles with computers
and telephones available for the operators. Handheld tactical radios and
satellite telephones are also used for backup communications.
(13) The facility can sustain an extended event. There are two dormitory rooms
that can accommodate 20 people each, with cots also available for sleeping in
the hallways. Support provided by the facility includes 10 shower stalls,
male and female restrooms, access to onsite paramedics, and a kitchen with a
dining area. When the Emergency Operations Center is fully activated, the
Department of Corrections provides the food; when not a full activation, meals
are provided by commercial establishments.
(14) All physical plant systems - water, electricity, backup generators - are
shared with the fire department offices in the building. Stored in the
Emergency Operations Center is sufficient water for 3 to 4 days. The Office of
Emergency Management has contracted with the Washington Suburban Sanitation
Commission for additional water when needed.
FACILITY USAGE:
(15) Overall, the Emergency Operations Center is activated very infrequently,
with the greatest amount of activity falling during the winter months. The last
full activation of the facility occurred in 2001 during response to a tornado
that killed two people. In addition, every 6 months the Emergency
Operations Center is staffed for an emergency exercise. On a day-to-day
basis the Emergency Operations Center is used primarily for training of the
Office of Emergency Management staff or for meetings held by the Fire
Department.
WORKS CITED:
Prince George's County (Maryland). Office of Emergency Management. "Office of
Emergency Management." location
http://www.goprincegeorgescounty.com/Government/AgencyIndex/OEP/index.asp?h=20&s=&n=110;
Landover Hills, Maryland, United States of America; Prince George's County
Office of Emergency Management; 6 June 2003.
In addition, the following interviews were
conducted to develop information included in this study:
Burr, Paula, Deputy Director, Prince George's
County Office of Emergency Management. Interview by the author. Landover Hills,
Maryland, United States of America; 6 June 2003.
Parks, Reginald, Director, Prince George's County Office of Emergency
Management. Interview by the author. Landover Hills, Maryland, United States of
America; 27 June 2003.