Emergency Operations Center

The Newtown Emergency Operations Center is located on the Fairfield Hills Campus. This purpose of this center is to provide a location where department and agency heads can meet to manage large scale emergencies from a central location. This center is equipped with conference areas, video conferencing equipment (for communications with other area municipalities), multiple display boards, and computer software monitoring to help local officials make decisions based on the emergency.

The EOC is located in a building that was renovated in 2011 for use as a standalone Emergency Operations Center. The renovations were complete using grant funds that the town was awarded from the State of Connecticut. The building, known as the William T. Halstead Sr. building, was dedicated on May 19, 2011 to Bill Halstead, current Emergency Management Director and Fire Marshal (as well as fire chief for the Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue Company) for his many years of service to the town of Newtown.

In addition to the EOC, the building also houses the town’s back-up 911 dispatch center in the event that the main center (located at the police department) becomes unusable. There is also storage space for emergency management supplies and the response trailer which contains sheltering equipment and public health emergency supplies. This trailer stands ready for mobilization so it can be deployed at a moment’s notice to setup an emergency shelter when needed. A backup EOC is also located at the Sandy Hook Firehouse.