New and improved 911, EMS facility better serves New Hanover County
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY)– New Hanover County wants residents and visitors to know it is ready to respond in the event of an emergency.
“I would say this space is an improvement in every way, and we’re happy to be in it,” said Steven Still, Emergency Management Director in New Hanover County.
The new and improved New Hanover County Emergency Services Center is now better equipped to help county employees mobilize help to where it’s needed, and as quickly as possible.
“This is a vast improvement over our last space. We had some experiences with our last space that truly tested its capability and functionality, and we have certainly grown as a facility,” said Still.
Still says the state-of-the-art technology, and quality of the new facility, will help 911 and EMS keep the community safe, no matter the circumstances.
“This building on this end is built for a category five hurricane, which gives us a sense of security having our staff stay in here during a hurricane. Obviously, we’re a coastal community, and we want to ensure the safety of the community, but we also want to ensure the safety of our staff while having to operate during a storm,” said Hope Downs, New Hanover County’s 911 Director.
The new center is part of the county’s efforts to make it easier, and safer, for staff to do their jobs in major events like a hurricane.
“We know that governments must continue, and all of our county services have to be done basically on steroids post event, and this facility allows us to do that,” said Still.
The larger workspace will also make it easier to have extra staffing in times of need.
“When we’re working certain events, whether its planned, manmade, natural, anything. We can bring in additional staff,” said Downs.
“Resiliency truly was the benchmark for designing the facility for whatever we see in the future,” said Still.
The 911 and Emergency Operations Center is located inside the new government center just off Racine Drive.
