BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — One of the most active emergency operation centers in the country will be revamped.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
The groundbreaking ceremony of the new Brevard County Emergency Operations Center took place Friday, not far from Fiske Boulevard and Barton Boulevard.
It has been decades before any updates have been made since the final round of construction was in 1999.
Read: WATCH: ‘The Search: Tracy Ocasio & Michelle Parker’
John Scott, Brevard County emergency management director, said this groundbreaking represents 20 years of effort.
The 42,000-square-foot emergency operations center is being built next to the Rockledge Facility, which opened in 1964.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/H2UXUN23ORAADN327ABE3NWJ4Y.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/JVDPEEPSQNAEXETQLQUCMEBILM.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/6HWN3KJ3URCUJADDX3W5D7VOA4.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/JV7OA65GBJHGFIRE2MYGM76WZE.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/W4BITETK6FGVLGBZT25VX5ADXI.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/WFH5DIWB2FHPXOD6LHBMVBQYUA.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/VIMJFAGM5NADBD4M6XJR4K3GGE.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/ZEPFHTIA25DMNJIJETO4WPQOMA.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/X3D27OKJL5HPPMHHYWKLCULAUM.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/CYHTIP3N3VBNNK7O5KQHUZSLEQ.png)
Scott said the building is aging and suffered from leaks due to Hurricane Irma.
Read: Melbourne police officer injured in hotel shooting, police say
The new $30 million facility will mean staff from agencies around the county won’t have to sleep where they work. The modern EOC will have a consolidated dispatch center.
As for structural improvements, the center will be able to withstand Category 5 hurricane-strength winds and have the latest technology to respond to emergencies.
Read: Small plane crashes into marshy area of Osceola County lake
State Sen. Tom Wright said the world that we live in today has made this next step crucial to responding to emergencies.
“This place is activated more often than any other place by one in the entire United States; the second-most active EOC,” he said.
The county hopes to complete construction on the $30 million project sometime during the 2023 hurricane season.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2022 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/HOXCMCYCVVDIPOIV7ATBDQZU4M.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/ECRZVS2WBRA6BC6BXAIEEDPSDE.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/6ZKXHL2YX5BZFOPE5PCYCBB7BU.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/BZVHM5J72RERTIFB4XXKKD5BXU.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/EPRTREOLZNGHNJTLCQJVEZNUAU.jpg)