SOUTHFIELD — Have you ever wondered what it’s like at a first responder center? Have you imagined the bustle of EMS dispatch?
The Engineering Society of Detroit invites you to check out the new Macomb County Communication and Technology Center — the nerve center for emergency responders protecting Macomb County.
The tour will take place Tuesday, June 10. Registration and networking begin at 1:30 p.m., with the tour taking place from 2 to 3 p.m. The center is at 117 S. Groesbeck Highway in Mt. Clemens.
Completed in December 2013, the 25,000-square-foot center features the latest technology — providing around-the-clock situational awareness for the residents, businesses and first responders of Macomb County.
Whether it’s a traffic accident, a fire, a medical eemrgency requiring EMS service, a road closure or an escalating emergency event such as severe weather, the COMTEC, as it’s caled, is ready and equipped to assist.
The center houses the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Centralized Dispatch, The Road Department Traffic Operations Center, the Information Technology Department and Data Center, and the Emergency Management & Communications Department. Placing all of these critical operation centers in one location allows COMTEC to maximize scarce resources and improve services. These four areas of county operations are dependent upon each other on a daily basis. This center satisfies the need for a central location that is always open and has the ability to monitor, manage, prevent, protect and respond to any type of emergency situation.
High-tech features of the COMTEC include:
* A 20-by-50-foot video wall accessible to the road department, sheriff’s dispatch and the EOC
* Eight traffic monitoring stations
* Twenty-five dispatch stations
* The countywide Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
* A centralized data center
* Backup power from generators
* A computer lab and IT training center
* Integrated communication technologies — radio, voice-data and video
The tour is $25 for ESD members. Non-members can attend for $60, which includes a one-year membership in the ESD (a 40 percent discount). This offer is for first-time members only.
To register, visit this link, http://ww2.esd.org/EVENTS/2014/2014-06-10-MacombTour.htm or call (248) 353-0735, ext. 222.