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The City of Frisco maintains a high-level emergency management division. We have a state of the art Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC receives vital information from local TV, cable channels, area public safety departments, and an advanced weather monitoring service. Within the EOC, staff has multiple communication capabilities including the ability to monitor active calls, communicate by phone, email, radio, and video teleconferencing.
The EOC houses the “Reverse 911” system and is one activation point of the outdoor warning system.
During major events, the EOC serves as a gathering point for City Officials and other decision makers who utilize the Emergency Management Plan (EMP) to ensure the safety of our Citizens.
The City of Frisco’s Emergency Management Plan is certified by the State of Texas Governor’s Division of Emergency Management at the advanced level. It assigns responsibilities for various emergency tasks to members of the City staff and is divided into 22 functional annexes, each identifying specific activities and actions taken before, during, and after emergencies. Our Emergency Management Plan is continually updated and exercised during both training and emergency situations. Below are examples of recent events that have afforded us opportunities to exercise and further develop the plan and utilize our Emergency Operations Center (EOC):
Severe Weather
Severe weather is commonplace in North Texas. When weather poses a significant threat to Frisco, the EOC staff assembles. We monitor local TV stations, our local weather stations which are located at Central Fire Station and Fire Station #3, our amateur radio frequencies, and the National Weather Service. Through a combination of all these resources, if we feel that severe weather is imminent for Frisco, we are able to activate the outdoor warning sirens from the EOC.
Major Incidents
The Emergency Management Plan and the Emergency Operations Center are primarily used during major incidents in Frisco. From within the EOC, we are able to utilize many avenues for information and assistance. Those include: access to numerous emergency numbers and procedures listed in the Emergency Management Plan; access to local media; opportunity to observe live images from our field units; monitor weather conditions; and monitor radio traffic. Beginning September 2008, the City of Frisco’s traffic operators began monitoring the major roadways within Frisco from the EOC. From here, they are able to help with traffic flow in and around major events.
Some examples of major incidents included:
May 24, 2011 – Severe weather event
May 22, 2011 – Severe weather event
February 6, 2011 - Propane Truck Overturned at Cotton Gin / Dallas North Tollway
January 31, 2011 - February 5, 2011 - Winter Weather
The EOC staff also monitors major events outside of the city that have the potential to impact Frisco. During the 2011 Wildland Fire Season, staff was actively involved in the EOC. Here we monitored state conference calls, accessed our resources for deployment, and monitored the event.
Our firefighters were involved in:
2 Deployments in September 2011
9 Deployments between February and April 2011
Mass Gatherings
The City’s EOC is activated in the event of mass gatherings. Several concerts occur at Pizza Hut Park which calls for such an activation. From the EOC, staff is able to monitor several aspects of the event which include: incidents at the location, weather in the area that can affect the event, additional staffing that may be required, and the incidents occurring around the city other than at Pizza Hut Park.
Some events include:
July 30, 2011 - Brad Paisley Concert
May 21, 2011 - Jimmy Buffett Concert
April 30, 2011 - Edgefest Concert
Training
In August of 2005, the Frisco City Council adopted the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the standard system for managing major incidents and disasters. The City’s Emergency Management Plan is NIMS compliant. The EOC is periodically used for training responders in the use of NIMS.
The EOC can be utilized for a wide variety of training. It was opened on October 18, 2008 for an ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) Drill. Our firefighters and emergency management staff had the opportunity to participate in a disaster drill with the amateur radio operators in Collin County. This gave the staff a better understanding of the use of the operators in a disaster situation and the opportunity to utilize the amateur radios within the EOC.
Please feel free to contact Chief Mack Borchardt at Frisco's Central Fire Station 972-292-6300 or email FireChief@FriscoFire.com should you have any additional questions regarding emergency operations and planning in the City of Frisco.