KEY IDEAS:
- Emergency operations centers (EOCs) must be built with flexibility and adaptability in mind.
- A well-designed EOC encourages collaboration and supports personnel well-being.
- EOCs rely on a robust foundation of connected tech that supports seamless communication.
- Public safety leaders must invest in tech solutions that streamline data gathering, analysis, and secure sharing.
Emergency operations centers are the foundation of effective emergency response, providing a central hub for personnel to receive real-time updates and distill information. Depending on the scenario, EOCs might be physical, virtual, or hybrid.
Building an EOC that addresses each aspect of emergency response can be time-consuming, but the effort pays off. To gather insight on creating modern, adaptable EOCs, we consulted public safety leaders at the first EOC of the Future Conference, hosted by Peregrine and the University of Virginia Center for Public Safety and Justice.
Keep reading to learn how to design a functional, mission-driven EOC.
What is an emergency operations center?
An emergency operations center is a centralized facility that acts as a hub for emergency and disaster response. Multiple agencies and organizations might use an EOC to coordinate a unified approach to natural disasters, public health crises, and other emergencies.
While no two facilities have the exact same design, FEMA’s guidelines state that all EOCs serve three functions:
- Support resources needs and requests
- Determine current and future needs and coordinate plans
- Provide coordination and policy direction
An optimized central EOC makes these goals possible. It houses critical technology, creates a collaborative culture, and supports personnel well-being during stressful scenarios.
Where should you locate an emergency operations center?
Your EOC may be housed in a shared space with other departments, such as a law enforcement agency, or it might occupy its own building. Either way, location matters: If your EOC isn’t safe and secure, it isn’t effective. Don’t place your EOC in a high-risk area that’s likely to be affected by floods, earthquakes, or hazardous materials, FEMA advises.
Make sure your facility is centrally located, allowing rapid response to an entire jurisdiction and easy access to comms systems, technology, and transportation. EOCs should be accessible by authorized personnel, but discrete enough that individuals can take action without being observed, the Department of Defense recommends.
Other location considerations include:
- Proximity to a government center
- Proximity to a convenient road network
- Avoids traffic or bridge congestion
- Adequate parking
- Space for helicopter landing pad
💡 PRO TIP: Balance accessibility with discretion when designing your EOC facility so personnel can act without public interference.
How much space does an emergency operations center need?
Build it as big as you can, because you’re going to find in very short order that you’ll need more space.” —Dave Fontneau, CIO, Orange County Sheriff’s Department
The physical space an EOC requires may vary depending on the incident, so it’s important to plan for adaptability and expansion. That’s especially true for smaller EOCs with budget or space limitations.
If your designated EOC occupies a single conference room, make sure you can quickly expand to accommodate other stakeholders when an emergency strikes. Create a plan for relocating non-emergency personnel, and consider the specific needs of potential partner agencies.
If you’re able to build a standalone facility, build it as big as you can, recommends Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) Chief Information Officer Dave Fontneau, who spearheaded the design of the Orange County Sheriff’s Technology Center.
To inform his planning of OCSD’s Technology Center, Fontneau toured and researched similar facilities around the U.S. to get ideas. He said his takeaways from that tour were “space, space, and more space.”
“If I could do it again, I would double the space, and it probably still wouldn’t be big enough,” Fontneau said. “Build it as big as you can, because you’re going to find in very short order that you’ll need more space.”
READ MORE: Shaping the EOC of the Future Through Culture and Leadership
How do you design an EOC for collaboration, adaptability, and wellness?
A well-designed EOC contributes to a healthier, more collaborative environment, which helps all personnel perform their best during critical scenarios.
Collaboration
The OCSD Technology Center features welcoming colors, staff amenities, and an innovative design inspired by tech companies, Fontneau said. That’s been a catalyst for culture change: Personnel enjoy coming to work, and teams that previously didn’t interact now collaborate openly.
“The design was done to get people out of their offices, get them out of their cubicles, and collaborate, break down those silos,” Fontneau said.
Jeremy Bersin, Chief of the Response Coordination Bureau at the Washington, D.C., Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (DC HSEMA), said DC HSEMA’s design encourages personnel to collaborate using moveable whiteboards and glass walls.
“We love to write on the walls and whiteboards, so we made every space that we could writable,” Bersin said. “If you walk through those halls today, you will see people ideating on those walls all the time.”
DC HSEMA also makes it easy to coordinate with other operation centers, Bersin said, with a large map and org chart that help streamline communication in critical moments.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: The OCSD Technology Center uses an open design, bright colors, and staff amenities to improve cross-team interaction. HSEMA’s EOC uses writable glass walls and whiteboards to promote constant ideation and coordination.
Flexibility and adaptability
For Bersin, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a changeable environment. At the time when the pandemic took hold, the agency had fixed desks, so personnel couldn’t maintain a proper distance from each other. That had to be adjusted when DC HSEMA moved to its new facility, Bersin said.
“We needed a space that was flexible and adaptable to the environment that we have to operate in for any given operation,” Bersin said.
In practice, that looks like a dedicated room with six workstations, a large conference table, and two large video feeds. EOC desks can be rearranged, but flexibility goes beyond that, Bersin said — especially because moving desks can be tedious. That’s where those retractable whiteboard walls come into play: They can expand to create three distinct spaces within the EOC, which DC HSEMA uses for training exercises, competitions, and extra staff accommodations.
Wellness
Wellness was a priority at DC HSEMA’s new EOC, Bersin said: “Everything we did was intentional.” The facility features natural light, green spaces, and yellow carpeting to signal breakaway areas with high-top tables and couches.
“People will go there and have a one-to-one conversation,” Bersin said. “They'll break away from what they’re doing in the EOC for a few minutes, just to get some time away from a desk.”
The facility also has showers, restaurants, and a gym on site. The EOC’s couches don’t have arms, so they can easily be rearranged if personnel need to stay overnight.
Wellness also extends to personnel with disabilities or specific needs, FEMA notes. Leaders must ensure that everyone can access the EOC and perform their jobs.
💡 PRO TIP: Ensure your space is accessible to all personnel, including those with disabilities.
Embed infrastructure for connectivity, communications, and tech
EOCs are hubs for communication. Personnel need to gather vast amounts of data, quickly analyze it, and safely share intelligence with decision-makers. Connected tech provides the foundation for those functions.
Connectivity
OCSD leaders knew they were designing their technology center for tech that didn’t exist yet, so they maximized connectivity and prioritized a cloud-native environment, leaving room for new solutions to fit into their ecosystem. In all, the facility has eight ways to connect to the internet.
“We have significant redundancy, because it's all about connectivity,” Fontneau said. “If we lose connectivity, and we’re utilizing solutions that are hosted in the cloud, we're dead in the water.”
FEMA recommends having at least twice the necessary number of outlets and network drops for internet, radios, telephones, and satellite phones. DC HSEMA’s facility accommodates ethernet power, and about half of its equipment is on uninterruptible power supply, which protects and powers equipment if grid power fails. The agency also has a dedicated generator, Bersin said.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: The OCSD Technology Center has “significant redundancy” when it comes to internet connectivity to ensure personnel never get disconnected.
Communications
Efficient data management and communication infrastructure is the backbone of emergency operations, so EOCs must implement strong infrastructure. According to FEMA, that includes:
- Adequate quantity of phones, copiers, computers, and other hardware devices
- Secure data and audio transmission capabilities
- Enhanced security on rooms storing communications equipment
- Preventative measures to guard against cybersecurity threats
DC HSEMA Situational Awareness Bureau Chief Anthony Hill highlighted the importance of building relationships with telecommunication companies, which ensure seamless communication with partner agencies and the public.
The agency needs robust two-way communication: infrastructure to send out critical alerts and ways to get timely information from citizens. Personnel track information that comes in from 311 and 911, social media, and other sources.
“The quicker we're able to identify those in real time, the quicker we’re able to react to make sure we're doing what we need to do to support,” Hill said.
READ MORE: Cutting-Edge Tech for Modern Emergency Operations Teams
Technology
"This technology is not just a huge benefit to us. It’s a benefit to our residents, because the faster we’re able to do our jobs, the faster we can get them assistance.” —Jodie Fiske, Director of Public Safety, Manatee County
As Fontneau mentioned, technology is always changing — you can’t predict what will be available in the coming years. Prioritize building a connected ecosystem and investing in new solutions that work together seamlessly.
To start, make sure each person has resources to perform their jobs. At HSEMA, for example, everyone has a dedicated desk, monitor, and phone charger.
EOCs also need tech infrastructure that can receive and process an immense amount of real-time data. Personnel often leverage dozens of data sources and emergency operations tech solutions, such as:
- Cameras
- Lift stations
- Weather stations
- 911 call mapping
- National Weather Service data
- Geospatial data and analysis capabilities, like maps or GIS
- Hazard prediction models to monitor, plot, and analyze scenarios
- Crisis information management systems
- Data integration platforms
Data integration is a critical component of Manatee County’s Public Safety Center, said Jodie Fiske, the Director of Public Safety for the county. Personnel used to track down information manually, risking stale data in critical scenarios. Now, personnel leverage Peregrine to ingest, harmonize, and analyze the county’s many data sources, translating actionable insights into dynamic, shareable dashboards that update in real time.
"This technology is not just a huge benefit to us,” Fiske said, “it’s a benefit to our residents, because the faster we’re able to do our jobs, the faster we can get them assistance.”
CASE STUDY: Manatee County Sets a New Standard for Hurricane Response
Construct the best EOC for your agency
An emergency operations center should provide reliable infrastructure for essential functions, while supporting wellness, collaboration, and innovation. EOCs need to be flexible and expandable — as do their tech solutions.
EOCs rely on adaptable technology that can grow with their operation. Data integration platforms like Peregrine create a durable, reliable foundation for a connected operations center. Peregrine’s advanced analytics capabilities empower personnel to make rapid, informed decisions and direct essential resources to the right locations. With Peregrine, agencies can also apply their data to support wellness, streamline interagency collaboration, and optimize workloads.
To learn how Peregrine can unlock your data, streamline decision-making, and facilitate easy coordination, download our white paper, “The State of Data in Emergency Management.”
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about designing an emergency operations center
What is an emergency operations center (EOC)?
An EOC is a centralized hub where agencies coordinate resources, share real-time updates, and manage response strategies during crises. EOCs may be physical, virtual, or hybrid, but all serve the same three FEMA-defined functions: supporting resource needs, planning for current and future requirements, and providing coordination and policy direction.
What makes an effective EOC design?
A well-designed EOC emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and wellness. It should:
- Allow for expansion and adaptability during emergencies
- Encourage collaboration through open layouts, writable walls, and shared spaces
- Support wellness with natural light, quiet break areas, and accessible facilities
- Include robust technology for gathering and analyzing data and communicating securely
Where should an emergency operations center be located?
The ideal EOC location is safe, secure, and centrally positioned within its jurisdiction. FEMA recommends avoiding high-risk areas like flood zones and earthquake-prone regions. Other considerations include proximity to transportation networks, adequate parking, and discreet accessibility for authorized personnel.
What technology is essential for modern EOCs?
Modern EOCs depend on connected, interoperable technology that enables fast data collection and sharing. Common tools include:
- Crisis information management systems (CIMS)
- Geographic information system (GIS) mapping and hazard prediction models
- Weather and environmental monitoring systems
- Integrated 911 and social media feeds
- Data integration platforms such as Peregrine for unifying real-time and historical data
Why is flexibility important in emergency operations center design?
Flexibility allows EOCs to adapt to evolving emergencies. Workstations, conference spaces, and tech infrastructure should be configurable for different scenarios, from natural disasters to public health crises. Flexible layouts, expandable space, and cloud-native technologies ensure EOCs remain effective as needs grow and threats change.
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