by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The Command Center is a necessity for the quick resolution to big problems. It provides the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department with a mobile communications center that helps coordinate fire/rescue efforts.
“It’s absolutely necessary to have a place where you can get out of the chaos and develop a plan,” said firefighter Jim “Jammer” Morgan, who is one of three operators of the Command Center. “This piece of equipment has just about every tool necessary to help access a situation and keep everyone in contact.”
The main functions of the Command Center are incident command and being a collection point for information from other agencies. It was built in 1998 for about $350,000.
The mobile Command Center was used in 2007 to coordinate fire/rescue efforts at the Berkman Plaza parking garage collapse, the T2 Laboratories chemical explosion and the Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church fire.
“It doesn’t roll out as often as some of the other pieces of equipment,” said Morgan, “but it only takes that one time it’s needed to prove how necessary it is.”
The Command Center also travels outside of the district when needed. Morgan drove the center up to Columbia County last summer for 10 days to assist with the Bugaboo Swamp fire near the Florida-Georgia border.
The center is equipped with seven work stations. Each work station has three radios, VHF, UHF and 800 megahertz. They also have aircraft, marine and ham radios.
“We can talk to anybody from our work stations,” said Morgan.
Communication is also aided by four dedicated phone lines that are connected by satellite dish. The dish also helps the center tune in to area television and radio programing so incident coordinators can keep up with the news and weather bulletins. The televisions are also monitors for the remote video camera that is attached to an extendible tower on the outside of the center. The camera can be raised to about 20 feet to give coordinators a better view of the scene.
The center doesn’t lose its vision at night either. Quartz lights are attached to each side of the center and a roof mounted lighting system can be raised to illuminate large areas.
Commanders can use all these tools for better sight inside the air-conditioned comfort of the center. Two generators help the center provide all these comforts in remote or disrupted areas.
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