No matter where you live, emergencies happen. Just look at the emergencies in the year 2021.
Locations in California experienced flooding, burning, and then, again, flooding. Texas froze, Hawaii had a blizzard, and the city of Seattle broiled. A hurricane hit Louisiana, and it was so waterlogged that all the way to New York City, it became overwhelmed with its remnants.
Where will the next emergency strike be? No one knows, but that does not mean you should not prepare.
When disaster strikes, you need an emergency command center.
What is a command center, and how can it help in an emergency? This article will detail everything you need to know.
Preparation for the next time an emergency strikes starts now.
What Is an Emergency Command Center?
You may hear the term emergency “control room,” too. It is a facility for a team to control their forces and direct operations during a time of emergency, including natural disasters.
An emergency command center will gather and process data, analyze it, and disseminate planning as well as other operational tasks. It oversees strategy and protects human life.
What’s in a Command Center?
Emergency operations centers must become active when there are large-scale incidents. If the incidents cause major property damage or can significantly impact businesses, it is time for the emergency responders and their command center to help.
First, a command center for emergency response needs to possess a large conference room. This is where the primary team will meet and discuss matters.
The command center needs:
- Emergency communication equipment
- Food, water, plates, cups, and silverware
- Furniture
- Office equipment
- Photocopiers
- Printers
Emergency communication equipment is one area that needs to be thoughtfully planned and addressed, as this will determine how efficient you can be with handling the emergency.
If you cannot communicate effectively, you can put many innocent lives in grave danger.
You will need cellular communication and landlines. Speakerphones will be helpful. Your team will need to accommodate both incoming and outgoing communications.
Broadcast radio and televisions are helpful (with recording capability too). This means you should also have TV monitors in your command center.
Most important, install satellite communications, as sometimes it may be the only type of communication that will work.
Ability to Draft Plans
For writing plans onsite, you will also need whiteboards and projection units or flip charts. Store markers and easels alongside these items, too.
Further, you need to store a lot of more personal items to keep notes. Keep a stack of stationary, post-it notes, pens, pencils, etc.
Because this command center is for emergency use, there will be no time to search for critical items like crisis communication, business continuity, and emergency response plans. You must store hard copies of all this and know its exact location.
Additionally, keep hard copies of contact lists, phone numbers, diagrams of the facility, and an inventory of resources.
Emergency Air Shelter
It is easy to set up a well-designed emergency command center when you have plenty of time to create it in advance. What if you are out of time? You need something made immediately, even on the fly.
In this case, often, emergency responders will use an emergency air shelter. They are versatile, requiring only a few people to set it up, and can inflate in a matter of minutes.
Emergency air shelters are lightweight. They are interchangeable and simple to mobilize.
Wear and tear will happen, especially during times of crisis. That is another reason that an emergency air shelter is so versatile because you do not have to replace the entire shelter. You could just exchange the floor or the top in case those isolated pieces become damaged.
Benefits of Emergency Command Center
The faster you can operate a command center, the better off you are at managing a crisis. People, businesses, and properties that are affected by the emergency will receive the attention and relief they need quickly when you can assemble your team and operations right away.
Coordinate Resources Better
Being the most effective at operating an emergency means maximizing the resources you have. This includes personnel and equipment.
Situations will develop, too. Emergencies are never static.
Therefore, emergency command centers are vital. They will know where to put resources and then reposition their resources as the situation changes.
Situation Updates
You will need one central location where there is an awareness of the situation as a whole and as it is fluid. Knowledge brings power. Real-time information and data of what is happening, as it happens, help you to be equipped properly.
Data and analytics may even help you predict the future, too.
Make Better Decisions
Emergencies are times when you make decisions that can change someone’s life. It can even mean life or death.
Making such decisions requires the ability to visualize a crisis as best you can in terms of time and space. Dealing with current challenges effectively and expecting what can happen in the future is easier if you have detailed information.
Emergency command centers mean making better-informed decisions, quickly, to improve and save lives.
Prepare Your Emergency Command Center
If you are looking to create an emergency command center and save lives, we can help. At Comprehensive Communication Services, we have many products to help you prepare, including an emergency air shelter and emergency communication equipment.
We offer products to help in times of emergency that are built with both research and technology.
During times of crisis, you should only work with the best resources. Contact us now.