Rockford plans to build $1M emergency operations center

When a major storm, catastrophic fire or disaster strikes, Rockford Fire Department personnel roll carts of computers, phones and other equipment into a classroom at fire headquarters.

About 30 minutes later, the classroom is transformed into an emergency operations center where the response of dozens, if not hundreds, of first responders can be coordinated.

That cumbersome procedure could finally change this year, Rockford Fire Chief Michele Pankow said.

"We literally roll the carts down the hallway, bring them into the EOC and get everything hooked up," Pankow said. "IT comes over, they help us get that up and running."

Using a $1 million grant secured by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth more than a year ago, plans are to build a dedicated and permanent emergency operations center on the first floor of Rockford Fire Department headquarters, 204 S. First St.

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Rockford City Council is considering a contract not to exceed $80,000 with Larson & Darby of Rockford for architecture and engineering needed for the project.

The emergency operations center is used to assist and enhance the work of emergency dispatchers working in the fire department's 911 center. Call takers in the center routinely field 27 calls an hour on average.

Pankow said the emergency operations center relives some of the pressure off the 911 center during a large-scale emergency.

"We want this to be a turn-key operation," Pankow said. " We have the technology. We unlock the door. We turn the light switch on, and we're ready to rock 'n' roll."

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Emergency center to boost Rockford fire response during major events