Bridgeport PD Mobile Command Unit could be used for school shootings

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - Bridgeport’s mobile command center is a multi-million dollar vehicle that is decked out in state-of-the-art technology. Within the vehicle that has internet wired throughout, are monitors, radios, smart boards, and other devices that make strategizing easier. While it hasn’t been needed yet, one situation it’s designed to respond to is an active school shooter. Director of emergency management, Tim Curry, says police can use it to connect to a school’s security cameras to monitor a shooter in real-time.

“We have a lot of capabilities in here,” Curry said. “we could log into all the school system cameras if we had to if we had an incident in the schools.”

The command center has other uses as well. After being purchased by Bridgeport in 2015, the command center is used during large scale incidents like fires and prison riots. Curry says this command center is important for the safety of the community.

“These are things that people don’t see all the time,” Curry said. “Emergency management is not the first responder, we are the second or third responder, so people don’t think about these kinds of parts of large incidents, but it’s good for the community to know that we’re here, that we’re working on keeping them safe.”

Depending on the situation, around five people will be working within the vehicle. Those operators and responders communicate through radio, phone, and satellites in order to collect and communicate information to get help to where it needs to be. Curry says that these trained individuals are what keeps the command center running at an efficient rate.

“It’s all about your unified command,” Curry said. “That’s the national standard set forth by FEMA, that on large incidents, your incident command staff is gonna be unified together so police, fire, emergency weather are all gonna be working together to solve whatever problem is happening.”

While the command center has responded to emergencies in the past, Curry hopes that as time goes on, more members of the community will begin to notice the center’s positive impact and they too can help to make the community be more safe.

“It’s important for them to engage with us and tell us what they need from us, and how better prepared they can be for disasters,” Curry said.

The mobile command center is always seeing updates as new situations arise and new technology develops. Curry’s goal is to have the center in use for at least the next ten years.