Snohomish County
Emergency Operations Center
Salas O’Brien provided architecture and interiors, engineering design, commissioning, project management, and construction management services for the conversion of an existing warehouse into the Emergency Operations Center for Snohomish County in Washington State. Our work ensured the building met standards for occupancy and could support the necessary telecommunications and critical data systems.
Our client
Washington’s Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management is in the business of predicting, preparing for, and responding to not only environmental disaster situations, but also accident, crime, or terror incidents. EOCs provide a place for decision-makers to converge, assess unfolding situations, and coordinate responses across the necessary platforms. This planning for the unknown requires engineering design support that is both flexible and incredibly durable.
Project highlights
Their challenge
When the county decided to convert an existing warehouse into the new county Emergency Operations Center (EOC), they turned to Salas O’Brien for help. The project involved extensive structural upgrades to bring the building up to occupancy standards and converted part of the old warehouse into a new data center which would house the EOC’s network and communications equipment.
Our solution
Our team met all of the project’s unique critical technology and infrastructure needs, including designs for structural upgrades, the addition of a new data center, and construction of a new 150-foot antenna tower. Our work included engineering for lighting design, fire alarm and suppression, and security systems. Salas O’Brien also provided project and construction management.
The results
The finished facility has a state-of-the-art, 2,600-square-foot operations center, a new media briefing room, and approximately 2,500 square feet of office space. Our team’s design emphasized versatile usability as well as faultless reliability for critical systems, and the results are empowering county leadership to respond to emergencies and serve the community.
