Newtown Emergency Operations Center Opens At Fairfield Hills

By Andrew Gorosko

A structure at Fairfield Hills, which had housed cooling equipment for two large residential buildings at the former state psychiatric hospital, is being put to a new use by the town: a communications command post at which local emergencies would be monitored.

The new communications facility, known as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), has been in use for several months, having been employed as a command post during recent emergencies involving a blizzard and a building collapse that caused a natural gas leak.

To formally mark the inauguration of the 3,100-square-foot EOC, a grand opening ceremony is slated for 10 am on Thursday, May 19, at the 27 Mile Hill Road South site. The public is invited.

Until the new EOC entered service recently, the town had used space in the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company’s main firehouse on Riverside Road for emergency operations.

The conversion of what formerly had been known as the “chiller plant” into the EOC started in March 2008. Workers removed the various mechanical equipment from the building, which had been used in the summertime to cool the nearby Cochran House and Canaan House.

The building’s cleared interior has provided space for the EOC’s various communications gear, town computer equipment, storage areas for the equipment and supplies used by volunteer firefighters, garage space to park the town’s trailer that contains emergency shelter equipment and supplies, as well as space to park the town’s spare fire truck.

Newtown Emergency Management Director Bill Halstead said that the EOC has been in use since January. In the event that backup communications gear is needed in an emergency, it is kept at the Sandy Hook firehouse.

Mr Halstead, who also is the town fire marshal and the Sandy Hook fire chief, estimates that converting the building for use as the EOC cost approximately $343,000, of which about $310,500 came in the form of state and federal grants.

Mr Halstead said he expects that most emergencies that would be handled at the EOC would be weather-related situations, such as heavy snow, heavy rain, flooding, hurricanes, and tornadoes. The magnitude of an emergency would determine the number of people who would staff the EOC, with the most serious situations requiring up to ten people to be stationed there, he said.

The EOC has a radio communications room equipped with new emergency radio gear, plus ham radio equipment, he said. That ham radio gear would be used as a backup in the event that the other radios do not perform as needed.

The town’s telephone-based Code Red emergency notification system can be activated from the EOC, if needed. The town uses that system to transmit pre-recorded telephone messages to specific areas of town affected by emergencies.

As a safety feature, the windows at the EOC are protected by motorized aluminum shutters that would be closed in the event of windstorms to protect the building’s interior.

Besides the radio room, the facility includes a video conferencing room where EOC staffers could conduct video conferences with state officials and other towns’ officials. The EOC also has a computer-equipped meeting room with map displays and organizational charts. A kitchen also is available.

The town’s backup computer equipment is kept at the EOC. In the event that the town’s primary computer equipment fails in an emergency, the backup gear would be pressed into service to keep the government functioning.

Maureen Will, a deputy emergency management director, explained that the dispatchers at the town’s emergency communications center at Town Hall South could shift their operations to the EOC in the event that the Town Hall South facility should go out of service.

In such a case, the Emergency 911 calls that normally are handled by Newtown’s dispatchers would be routed to Southbury for answering, she said. Ms Will is the town’s director of emergency communications.

Donna Culbert, the town health director, also is a deputy emergency management director.

Mr Halstead explained that in the event of a local emergency, either, he, Ms Culbert, or Ms Will would be present at the EOC to supervise operations.

The EOC is equipped with a 36-killowatt emergency electric generator, as well as a battery-based backup power supply to keep the facility running in the event of power outages.

 How often the EOC needs to be used will vary, Mr Halstead said, noting that emergencies occur when they occur.

To be ready to convert a public building into an emergency shelter, the EOC will house the town’s trailer for emergency shelter supplies. That trailer contains cots, blankets, pillows and various medical supplies. It also holds 2,700 prepackaged meals.

Mr Halstead explained that the town served as its own contractor in converting the former chiller plant into the EOC.

“It worked out pretty good,” he said, adding that the finished product has met his expectations for the facility.