AMITE — Parish President Robby Miller announced today that Tangipahoa Parish has received a nearly $2.2 federal allocation to purchase a new state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Mobile Command Center.
The $2.195 million appropriation was approved under the CJS/DOJ Byrne account to incorporate new, extensive features and capabilities ranging from communications and shelter facilities to climate control and videoconferencing capabilities for first responders.
“This is an amazing opportunity for Tangipahoa Parish to upgrade our more than 20-year-old existing mobile command center and make it even more effective in the emergency situations facing our community,” Miller said.
Over the last two decades, the parish’s existing mobile command center has been used for a variety of responses, including escaped fugitive searches, a school shooting event, multiple hazardous materials incidents on our two major interstates, and numerous search and rescue events following natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. The unit has also been used outside of the parish to assist other communities, such as traveling to Southwest Louisiana for Hurricane Laura, wildfire response in Cameron and Vernon Parishes, and serving as a command center during the 2024 super fog event that resulted in a 158-car pile up on I-55 and left nine people dead as well as numerous critical injuries.
“This has been a critical tool in our emergency response efforts in and around Tangipahoa Parish,” Miller said.
The existing unit has been remodeled three times in an effort to keep it up and running for more than 20 years. At this point, the unit has “proven to be impractical to be used on an emergency basis as well as cost-prohibitive to repair,” Miller said.
“Incident response requires mobility, interoperability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, and the parish’s current Mobile Command Center fails to adequately achieve these baseline objectives,” Miller said.
The new unit will support independent radio communication workstations, power sources, and other support. The vehicle will contain video surveillance, a backup generator, electronics closet, ample dry storage, cellular communications network, and ample exterior lighting. The vehicle will be able to work fully autonomously and service citizens over a wide area, once deployed.
“The new Mobile Command Center will more than adequately support the needs of Tangipahoa’s Office of Homeland Security and increase services to the public while also reducing response times and ultimately playing a key role in safeguarding our citizens,” Miller said.
“We are especially grateful to our Congressional delegation—particularly House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA-1) and Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-5), who serves on the Appropriations Committee—who helped to shepherd this funding request through the process,” Miller said.