47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

4.4 EMERGENCY RESPONSE FACILITIES4.4.1 BackgroundEmergency response facilities include EOCs, police stations,and fire rescue stations. All of these facilities areconsidered critical because they must remain functionalto manage response and recovery operations during and aftera hazard event. EOCs function as incident command centersfor coordination and support of all emergency activities. Thecommand and response personnel must remain on duty, in fullreadiness for action both during and in the aftermath of a disaster.In addition to personnel and resources, EOCs house theinformation and communications systems that provide feedbackto the emergency managers to help them make decisions aboutefficient and effective deployment of resources. They also relayinformation to local residents, shelters, media, and other firstresponders, while providing Continuity of Government (COG)and Continuity of Operations (COOP).Police and fire rescue facilities are critical to disaster response,because an interruption in their operation as a resultof building or equipment failure may prevent rescue operations,evacuation, assistance delivery, or general maintenanceof law and order, which can have serious consequences for thecommunity.While each of the three types of emergency response facilitiesis used for different operational purposes and their needs areOBSERVATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CRITICAL FACILITIES4-45