Changes For Emergency Operations Center
By: Jenna Zibton
Updated: November 5, 2009
Last week's storm brought some unexpected problems at the Bossier Emergency Operations Center, like losing the Web E.O.C. Log. The securemessage board is an invaluable resource for responders, keeping Shreveport and Bossier agencies informed during a storm. That was not the case when the power went out and computers went off.
"We'd never had a problem with our backup generator, we run it every Friday for an hour and half, make sure the battery's charged and those issues and it's just Murphy's law. What will happen did happen" says Director Sandy Davis.
But what did happened was major flooding in front of the Bossier City Emergency Operations Center on Doctors Drive, power failing three times and a generator failing, leaving the communications center without major use of some of it's operations, requiring emergency officials to move by bus across the Red River in the middle of the storm.
"Everytime we do this, we draw from our experiences and we tweak things and make things a little better" says John Fulco with the Department of Homeland Security.
"Obviously there's a lesson learned there. If there's going to be high water, and the ground's already saturated, we might go ahead and set up at Caddo in the first place" says Bossier City Fire Chief Sammy Halphen.
But even with the power out "We didn't have major loss of life or major injuries" says Davis.
The center is getting a new generator. It asked for the $70,000 equipment before the storm, but it will take at least thirty days to arrive.
