The community of Deer Park, known as the "Birthplace of Texas," was founded in 1892, when settlers first began establishing farms and building a community in an area that today lies just outside of Houston. In 1900, a major flood devastated the settlement and destroyed most of the homes and farms. However, Deer Park rebuilt and endured and today is a thriving city of more than 30,000 residents. Through the decades, the city has continued to be challenged by major weather events, including hurricanes, monsoon rains, and floods. In recent history, Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 posed significant threats to Deer Park, bringing high winds, torrential rains, power outages, and damage to buildings and infrastructure.

Flexible and Prepared

For the past few years, Deer Park has been more prepared than ever before to respond to these events, with a fully equipped emergency operations center (EOC) housed within the city's police headquarters. The EOC's flexible design also accommodates community meetings, as well as police and emergency management training sessions, so the space can be used year-round.

When emergency operations are needed, the space can be quickly transformed for EOC personnel, often working on an around-the-clock basis. Perimeter "closets" are actually EOC carrels that open up to reveal efficient workspace for police and fire personnel as well as city leadership, department representatives, and administrators. The carrels feature desks and shelves for emergency operations manuals and other supplies.

One of the carrels also has an interior window that opens to the adjacent communications dispatch center. The dispatch center helps serve as the eyes and ears of the EOC personnel, keeping them updated on quickly changing conditions in weather, traffic, infrastructure conditions, etc.

A center table enables EOC personnel to gather as a group to strategize, review tasks, and determine courses of action. A bank of large, mounted flat screens allows for display of individual feeds and maps. The EOC is also designed with restroom and food preparation facilities to support the operations efficiently.

Year-Round Durability

In a hurricane-prone region like southeast Texas, designing and constructing durable buildings is important; for a police headquarters and EOC a high level of durability is absolutely critical. The Deer Park EOC has "hardened" exterior walls with no windows.

In general, the entire 26,000-square-foot police facility features windows, walls, and a roof assembly that are all designed to be weather-resistant, along with a well-protected emergency generator system. Exterior materials of brick, limestone, and cast stone not only impart a prominent civic image, they help the building stand the test of time.

Fortunately, the Deer Park Police headquarters/EOC has done exactly that—demonstrating resilience to extreme weather and enabling city staff to work through emergencies efficiently, comfortably, and with all the tools they need. As we recognize National Hurricane Preparedness Week, and look to prepare for another hurricane season, the success of this EOC serves as a good model.