Western Illinois University has completed the first phase of its new Emergency Operations Center on the Macomb campus.
The facility in Sallee Hall is designed to provide students with hands-on experience with emergency management platforms such as Juvare and DH4.
Jamie Johnson, Director of WIU’s School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration, which includes the Emergency Management Program, said students will be trained in emergency management for all types of natural disasters.
“From earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis. A lot of people say we’re in Illinois. I’m aware. But people still have to talk about what tsunamis do. Hurricanes are what they do, because my students are now going all over,” he said.
Johnson said emergency management students are also trained to deal with human created disasters, such as wars and domestic and foreign threats.
In addition to the high-tech programs, students are trained to develop emergency operational plans with paper and pencil if no tech is available.
Johnson said about 100 students will be using the facility, including around 60 emergency management majors.
It cost $2.3 million to complete Phase 1. Johnson said it will cost another $1.5 million to complete Phase 2.
“We just get more and more capable as we grow. It’s exciting,” said Johnson.
In addition to expanding the amount of space for the EOC, Phase 2 will include a room with stadium seating for students to observe and interact with professionals. Johnson said workforce education is important in emergency management.
He hopes Phase 2 can begin soon.
“Phase 2 will start once the historical preservation society says we can go,” Johnson said.
He said once they have permission, they will have plans drawn up by an architectural firm. Once those are ready, construction can begin.
“Phase 2 can technically be done within a semester,” he said.
He said the space is not currently shared with McDonough County’s emergency management agency because a Memorandum of Agreement must be developed and signed. But he said the EOC is positioned to lend a helping hand if there is an emergency, and he said they have the technology to train responders from smaller communities that can’t afford the equipment.
Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin secured federal funding for the center, and was on hand for this week’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the EOC.
He said WIU has long been highly regarded for its law enforcement and emergency management programs.
“So it just fits so nicely to think that we would be prepared for the next challenge and prepare the folks to respond to it right here at Western,” Durbin said.
During his visit, Durbin and others who attended the ceremony watched faculty and students do a demonstration on the new equipment. He said it was clear the students were comfortable with the new technology.
“I like to think that some of the things that I’ve helped bring investment to the state are going to continue to pay off for years to come. This is one of those things” said Durbin, who is retiring.
He is completing his fifth six-year term after first being elected to the Senate in 1996.
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