Three emergency services unveil new mobile command post in Regina

Three public safety agencies rolled out a new emergency vehicle in Regina on Monday.

The vehicle was created by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, but it will be used by the Regina Police Service and Regina Fire and Protective Services as well as the SPSA.

The Mobile Command Post is a customized 37-foot mobile home that has been equipped with a variety of different technologies to help emergency services deal with any large-scale incidents they come across. The MCP can operate continuously for 72 hours in off-grid environments without experiencing service interruptions.

Regina Fire Chief Layne Jackson said the MCP would mainly be deployed for large-scale incidents such as fires and train derailments.

“When we have house fires, we typically handle that just internally with our department. When we have a larger, major type of fire — like the Gordon Block fire or the Battery Depot fire (and) those that start to get bigger in scale — that’s when we would consider deploying this,” Jackson said. “But it’s for more of a larger, more significant incident that requires a multi-agency response.”

The vehicle has 300 square feet of operations space, a dispatcher station with a dedicated computer and radios connected to several agencies, seven different workstations equipped with high-speed satellite internet, a private meeting room, a large touchscreen whiteboard and conference and video call capabilities.

It also features a deployable remote weather station, five exterior HD cameras as well as a remote-controlled 32x zoom camera for scene monitoring, remote thermal imaging equipment, backup cellular internet, a cellular phone booster, and independent heating and cooling for deployment in extreme conditions.

Christopher Clemett of the SPSA said the work is not yet done on the command centre.

“This unit has been a couple years in the making,” he said. “We were able to refurbish it from a mobile home, but it’s the technology, so it will actually be an ongoing project where the technology will be constantly upgraded.”

This is the second Mobile Command Post in the province; the first currently is stationed in Prince Albert.

“This command post is equipped with all the innovative and necessary technology to allow us to meet the challenges of complex situations,” said RPS Deputy Chief Dean Rae. “Through this partnership, we now have a Mobile Command Post that can facilitate a multi-agency response in all types of crisis situations.

“By having this, our agency collaboration and effectiveness will automatically be increased through the increased flow of information and the timeliness of that information between all the agencies in the respective situation. This will ensure a fully informed and educated response with all available information at our fingertips.”

The MCP will be stored in Regina, allowing all three groups immediate access to the vehicle.