Emergency Operations Center
Standard Operating Procedures
Allen County Preparedness System
Planning Framework - Response
January 2016
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
1 East Main Street, Room 754
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
2.0 Scope ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
3.0 Organization........................................................................................................................................... 3
4.0 Concept of Operations ........................................................................................................................... 4
4.1 General .............................................................................................................................................. 5
4.2 Activation & Notification .................................................................................................................. 5
4.3 ICP & EOC Coordination .................................................................................................................. 6
4.4 EOC Security ..................................................................................................................................... 7
4.5 Fiscal Procedures and Administrative Authorities ............................................................................ 7
4.6 Message Tracking and General Documentation ................................................................................ 7
4.7 Information Dissemination ................................................................................................................ 7
4.8 Government Emergency Telecommunications Service ..................................................................... 8
4.9 Deactivation ....................................................................................................................................... 8
4.10 EOC Staff Training .......................................................................................................................... 8
5.0 Plan Maintenance ................................................................................................................................... 8
6.0 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Page 2 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Standard Operating Procedures are part of the Allen County
Preparedness System. This SOP describes the procedures for activating, operating, and deactivating the
EOC.
The EOC provides a central location from which government at any level can provide interagency
coordination and support of incident responses. The EOC coordinates with on-scene incident managers
to:
• Acquire, allocate, and track resources.
• Manage and share information.
• Establish response priorities.
• Provide legal and financial support.
• Act as a liaison with other jurisdictions and levels of government.
Upon activation at any level, the EOC serves as the centralized location (physically and virtually) to
monitor and report the impact of emergencies while providing communication and information between
the EOC, the Incident Commander, key decision-makers, and surrounding jurisdictions. The EOC is the
focal point for coordination and support of the response and recovery activities for all of Allen County.
The procedures listed apply to all personnel participating in EOC activities.
The primary EOC for Allen County is located at the Rousseau Centre, 1 East Main Street, 6th floor. This
is a fully equipped and functional location. The Allen County Office of Homeland Security (Homeland
Security) is located on the 7th floor of the Rousseau Centre and is considered part of the EOC.
In the event that the primary EOC is not functional due to damage, inaccessibility, or evacuation, an
alternate EOC would be activated. The first alternate EOC location is at the Public Safety Academy,
7602 Patriot Crossing. The second alternate EOC location is in the New Haven Community Building, 815
Lincoln Highway East, New Haven. Some EOC supplies will need to be moved to an alternate EOC
if opened (Appendix H).
2.0 SCOPE
This plan provides guidance for the activation and operation of the Allen County EOC during an
emergency or disaster incident. The EOC is designed to coordinate the support needs of field operations
in the response and recovery phases by obtaining and providing resources, maintaining situational
awareness, coordinating activities, providing information to the public through the PIO/JIC, and to bring
decision-makers of the involved agencies together to coordinate their response to an incident. The
command and control of incident operations remains with the Incident Commander, Unified Command or
Incident Management Team in the Incident Command Post.
3.0 ORGANIZATION
The EOC is supervised by an EOC Manager. If a Policy Group is activated for the incident, the EOC
Manager reports to them, otherwise he/she reports to the Director of Allen County Homeland Security.
The EOC is staffed with the representatives of the 14 Emergency Support Functions that have been
activated for that incident and outside experts as needed.
Page 3 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
The Policy Group is made up of the elected officials of the affected jurisdiction(s), their representatives,
and/or the executive heads of the agencies that are directly involved in the incident response. The Policy
Group is not normally located in the EOC. The Policy Group is responsible for:
• Activating the Allen County Preparedness System
• Making policy decisions and setting the strategic objectives for the incident.
• Authorize allocation of resources and expenditures.
• Coordinating all public information releases with IC/UC, EOC, and PIO/JIC
• Recommending that the County Commissioner(s) request State assistance if the local
jurisdiction’s resources are overwhelmed, by declaring a State of Disaster Emergency under
Indiana Code 10-14-3-29 and Indiana Code 10-14-3-12.
The EOC Manager, usually a member of the Allen County Homeland Security, supervises the EOC
operations and staff. The EOC Manager is responsible for:
• Setting up the EOC.
• Supervising and supporting the EOC operations and staff.
• Coordinating security for the EOC.
• Working closely with the Policy Group and ensuring that proper emergency and disaster
declarations are enacted and documented.
• Preparing the EOC’s Incident Action Plan, if one is used, and distributing it to the EOC staff
along with incident status briefings.
• Coordinating with and between the: Policy Group; local, state, and federal agencies and branches
of government; and District 3 agencies.
• Coordinating the completion and filing of all EOC forms, records, and other documents (both
paper and electronic).
• Maintaining an Activity Log.
The ESF Representatives will continue to remain under the administrative control of their agency;
however, while in the EOC, they will also function under the supervision of the EOC Manager, as will
any outside experts.
4.0 CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS
This section establishes procedures for activating; staffing and equipping; conducting operations; and
deactivating the EOC in the event of its activation.
The EOC may be activated upon the occurrence of an incident expected to expand rapidly, as a
preemptive measure when an emergency is imminent, or when resources are needed to support an
incident/emergency in progress.
Activation may be for the purpose of gathering information in order to be better prepared for a pending
incident and to determine what level of response may be needed.
Activation may involve partial or full staffing, depending on the support needed.
When activated, the EOC will serve as the point of contact for all responding local, District 3, state, and
federal agencies in order to relieve the Incident Commander or Unified Command the need to do so.
All press releases concerning the incident should come from, or at least be approved by, the EOC Policy
Group and the Incident Commander/Unified Command and be released through the Joint Information
Page 4 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
Center (JIC).
4.1 GENERAL
The EOC serves as the single focal point for coordinating the operational, planning, logistical, and
administrative support needs of the incident response personnel. It may also serve as the meeting place
for designated key local decision makers of the Policy Group to plan, direct, and coordinate incident
response strategies. It also provides situational awareness in the form of information and intelligence.
The following are general guidelines:
• All personnel must sign in and out.
• The EOC Manager will be the central tasking person to ensure prioritization and understanding of
all activities in the EOC.
• Only one representative from each activated ESF position should be in the EOC at one time.
• News media and other nonoperational personnel shall not be permitted in the EOC during
activations. Only personnel serving in an operational capacity should be in the EOC.
• Maintain a productive and professional work environment.
• Keep voices low and do not talk across the room unless making a general announcement. If you
need to speak to someone, use the position telephones or go to them.
• The EOC staff gathers and disseminates situation reports and information for the local decision
makers, and other units of local, state, and federal government. This process allows for resources
to be utilized without duplication and operations can run more effectively.
• The EOC facility support functions will be performed by the Homeland Security staff or other
designated personnel.
• The EOC will operate as long and continuously as necessary to respond to the emergency.
4.2 ACTIVATION & NOTIFICATION
The activation of the EOC will come as a result of a request from: the on-site Incident Commander or
Unified Command; the head of any Allen County or local government department or agency; the elected
official of any jurisdiction within Allen County; or proactively by Homeland Security.
When the EOC is activated Homeland Security will take the following actions:
• Any ESF agencies that are needed to support the incident will be notified. They will be instructed
where and when to arrive, what the incident is, and given any further information as may be
necessary. A list of primary ESF agencies and their EOC representatives appears in Appendix A.
• The Board of Commissioners and the elected official(s) of the affected jurisdiction will be
notified of the activation.
• The Allen County PIO will be notified.
• WebEOC will be updated with the EOC status.
• When the physical EOC is needed, it will be opened, equipment turned on and supplies laid out.
Appendix B.
• Homeland Security will implement security procedures for the EOC as needed.
A declaration of a state or local emergency is not required to activate the EOC. However, it must be
activated once a local declaration has been made.
There are four levels of EOC activation in response to a local emergency (Figure 1). The EOC will be
activated to the level necessary to support and coordinate emergency operations for the incident. At
Level IV, only Homeland Security staff is needed as the EOC is only maintaining a watch of the current
Page 5 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
situation in case further actions are needed. At Level III, ESF Agencies may or may not be needed. If
not, Homeland Security staff will handle EOC operations. A Joint Information Center (JIC) may also be
considered by the Allen County PIO. At Levels I and II, ESF agencies will be needed and the full EOC
will be activated. A JIC should be established by the Allen County PIO.
Level # Name of Level Description Example
Daily Ops/Limited A situation has occurred, or may occur,
Emergency that may warrant further actions.
IV Tornado Watch
Conditions Homeland Security is monitoring the
situation.
Active Emergency Minor to moderate
III A situation has occurred requiring limited damage and/or
Conditions activation of the EOC. casualties
Significant Moderate to heavy
A situation has occurred requiring partial
II Emergency damage and/or
activation of the EOC.
Conditions casualties
Extreme widespread
Full Emergency A situation has occurred requiring full
I damage and/or mass
Conditions activation of the EOC and Policy Group.
casualties
Figure 1
4.3 ICP & EOC COORDINATION
The primary job of the EOC is to coordinate support for the incident response operations. This is done
through the Incident Command Post (ICP) located at or near the incident site.
The ICP will maintain radio communications with the EOC to request needed support and to provide
status reports on the incident response activities. The general radio call sign for the EOC is “EOC”,
regardless of who in the EOC is being called. While the radio call sign of the ESF representative may be
used in place of “EOC”, it is not recommended. The call sign for the incident site(s) will be set at the
time of the incident.
Communications between the ICP and the EOC may be conducted in one of several ways. All
communications conducted on one radio talk group, with someone in the EOC identified as the primary
radio operator to communicate with the ICP; communications conducted on multiple agency specific talk
groups between the ICP and the person in that agency’s ESF position in the EOC; or a combination of the
two.
Back-up communications will consist of telephone calls between the cellular telephones in the ICP and
the dedicated phone line assigned to each ESF position. It will be important to exchange the phone
numbers for the EOC and the staff in the ICP. Depending on the circumstances, other forms of back-up
communications may need to be investigated and put in place.
It is understood that in normal daily operations, the IC/UC goes through 911 dispatch for their support
Page 6 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
needs. It is also understood that in a large scale event this may continue to some degree as well,
especially requests for additional local emergency response vehicles and crews. However once the EOC
is activated, most of the other support requests should go through the EOC.
4.4 EOC SECURITY
The EOC will be on lock-down during activations. At the primary location at the Rousseau Centre this is
a normal condition as the entire floor as well as the area the EOC room is located in is on lock-down since
it is the 911 dispatch center.
During an EOC activation, access will be restricted to EOC staff and others conducting official business.
All other individuals requesting access to the EOC will need approval from the EOC manager.
All individuals requiring access to the EOC will be required to enter through the designated entrances.
Media representatives and other visitors will only be allowed access to the EOC upon approval by the
EOC Manager and must be escorted by the Allen County PIO or his designee.
Each EOC staff participant will be required to sign in and out on the check-in log, Appendix D.
The EOC Manager will request law enforcement to post an officer at the EOC entrance, if in his/her
opinion the situation calls for that level of increased security.
4.5 FISCAL PROCEDURES AND ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES
Fiscal procedures followed during emergency operations will be the same as is utilized on a day-to-day
basis for routine business. Any purchases should be handled by the Policy Group if activated, otherwise
by the Homeland Security Director or his designee.
Preservation of records is important to ensure eligibility of reimbursement for qualifying federally
declared disasters.
4.6 MESSAGE TRACKING AND GENERAL DOCUMENTATION
ICS forms are to be used when possible for much of the documentation in the EOC. Incoming messages
to the county’s EOC should be captured in writing utilizing ICS Form 213 (General Messages) whenever
possible. ICS 213’s should be acted on by the appropriate EOC staff as soon as possible and a reply made
to the sender when appropriate.
The Information Collection Form, Appendix E, should be used by the EOC Manager to track the status of
the incident and the ESF agencies. This report will be used to brief the Policy Group and others.
At the end of the operational period, all I forms are to be turned in to the EOC Manager for filing with
the incident documentation.
4.7 INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
An EOC briefing should be held once per operational period to update EOC staff on the status of the
emergency operations.
A daily Situation Report will be prepared utilizing ICS Forms ICS-201 (Incident Briefing) and optionally
ICS-209 (Incident Status Summary). These can be used to brief participating incident response agencies.
Page 7 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
Information will be disseminated to the public through the PIO and in collaboration with ESF 15.
4.8 GOVERNMENT EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE
The Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) is a National Security and Emergency
Preparedness service of the Federal Government. GETS may only be used by authorized personnel and
for emergency use only. When normal phone calls cannot be completed due to system overload, using
GETS increases the probability of completing emergency calls. Information on the use of GETS phone
cards is located in Appendix G. These cards have been issued to the heads of many Allen County
Department, including the staff of Homeland Security.
4.9 DEACTIVATION
When the Director of Homeland Security determines the EOC is no longer required to support the
incident, he/she will notify the EOC Manager to deactivate the EOC. The EOC Manager will collect all
incident documents from the EOC staff, dismiss the EOC staff, shut down the EOC equipment, replace
any supplies that have been used, and place the EOC back in stand-by mode per Appendix C.
All incident documentation will be transferred to the Office of Homeland Security for use in the After
Action Report and final archiving.
4.10 EOC STAFF TRAINING
All EOC positions should have completed of the following core training courses:
• IS 100 – Introduction to Incident Command System
• IS 200 – Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• IS 700 – National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• IS 800 – National Response Framework, An Introduction
In addition to the core training, each ESF position should complete the specified training for their ESF:
• ESF 1: IS 801 – Transportation
• ESF 2: IS 802 – Communications
• ESF 3: IS 803 – Public Works
• ESF 4: IS 804 – Firefighting
• ESF 5: IS 805 – Information and Planning
• ESF 6: IS 806 – Mass Care
• ESF 7: IS 807 – Logistics
• ESF 8: IS 808 – Public Health and Medical Services
• ESF 9: IS 809 – Search and Rescue
• ESF 10: IS 810 –Hazardous Materials Response
• ESF 11: IS 811 – Agriculture and Natural Resources
• ESF 12: IS 812 – Energy
• ESF 13: IS 813 – Public Safety and Security
• ESF 15: IS 815 – External Affairs
5.0 PLAN MAINTENANCE
The Director of Homeland Security and key staff are responsible for:
Page 8 of 9
Allen County Office of Homeland Security
Emergency Operations Center SOP
January 2016
• Updating this document as deficiencies are identified through drills and exercises; or changes
made in government structure or emergency organizations.
• Ensuring that necessary changes and revisions to this annex are prepared, coordinated, published,
and distributed.
• Maintaining an emergency notification roster with 24-hour telephone numbers for EOC staff and
representatives.
6.0 APPENDIX
(Restricted For Official Use Only)
A. EOC Notification Procedures
B. EOC Activation Check-list
C. EOC Deactivation Check-list
D. EOC Check-in Log
E. Information Collection Form
F. ESF Position Guide
G. GETS Card
H. EOC Supply List
Page 9 of 9
