Emergency Operations Center set to open at Radford University
The Emergency Operations Center is a unique learning and professional space inside the new CHBS building.
The new College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences (CHBS) building at Radford University was designed with learning spaces that simulate professional work environments and tools that the local community can utilize.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a room Professor Steve Owen said will operate as “a resource for the professional community for training and exercises.”
The Emergency Operations Center inside the new CHBS building at Radford University.
For Radford’s students, the space will serve as a professional simulation that puts theory into practice in a meaningful way, consistent with incident command system principles and technology available out in the field.
“We want to build upon our current collaborations with the professional community and to facilitate additional opportunities,” Owen said.
To prepare students for a career in that professional community, Criminal Justice and the School of Communication are planning to conduct crisis communications simulations in the space to prepare students for actual emergencies.
“The space allows us to teach emergency management and crisis management classes in an environment that replicates an actual EOC,” Owen said. “We also hope to facilitate training opportunities for the professional emergency management and first response communities. The space was also designed to have the potential to serve as a backup EOC for an actual incident, if needed.”