Emergency Operations Center

At present Royalston establishes an EOC in the police station during an emergency.  REMA uses (978) 249-2904 as an EOC number.  That number is transferred to the police station when needed.

An Emergency Operations Center or EOC is an established control facility from which emergency operations can be directed and coordinated. An EOC provides a central intelligence arena for decision makers and response team personnel to gather critical information, coordinate response activities, and manage personnel as the emergency situation dictates.  The EOC, whether a simple conference room or an extravagant mission control facility, should be capable of serving as the central coordination point for:

  • All emergency operations
  • Information gathering and dissemination
  • Coordination with local governments, outside contractors, mutual aid and volunteer organizations

Simply establishing a specific location, and stocking it with response equipment and technology is not enough to coordinate an effective response.  The first most critical component of an EOC is the individuals who staff it. They must be properly trained, and have the proper authority to carry out actions that are necessary to respond to the disaster.

Currently, Royalston’s EMD is allowed to use the police station as a makeshift EOC during declared states of emergency.  This is a complex issue and is only possible because the current EMD is also a sworn police officer, which is a requirement to maintain the integrity of evidence and documentation that is stored in that same space.

The identification or creation of an Emergency Operations Center is high on town’s priority list.