Mobile emergency operations center to support Adirondack communities

Paul Smith’s College students design mobile emergency unit used for training and real-life situations

By Mike Lynch

In January, Paul Smith’s College students spent a week in North Carolina assisting communities with clean-up efforts after Hurricane Helene devastated the region last fall. 

In the future, they hope to ramp up similar efforts in the Adirondacks. 

With the help of a $19,700 grant from the Adirondack Foundation and Waterwheel Foundation, the college will purchase a trailer to serve as a mobile emergency operations center. The unit will be used for hands-on training for students in local communities before and after disasters. 

For instance, in two weeks the college students will work with Saranac Lake high school students on first-aid training. In the future, the mobile center will help support those exercises. 

Mobile emergency center will enhance community training

The idea for the mobile center and disaster project came from student Ryan Chiari, a junior and president of the college’s disaster response club. A state-owned mobile center that students used as part of a training exercise in 2023 inspired him to move ahead on getting one on campus. 

Chiari mentioned that the plan is to buy a trailer this summer. They will equip it with communication tools, rakes, chainsaws, and protective gear. Students and the college will fundraise for additional gear. 

Chris Sheach, coordinator of the college’s disaster management and response program, is excited about the possibilities of teaching students in the field. 

“With the mobile trailer, we can take that classroom to the woods, to the side of the river where an alleged flood is going on,” he said. 

As the project develops, the students plan outreach to a handful of towns that participated in the Adirondack Climate Outreach & Resilience Network (ACORN) meetings in recent months to see if they can partner and be of help. That will include offering training but also potentially responding to disasters. 

“Ideally we want it to just become a sustainable program that just rolls out every year and just keeps working through the Adirondacks,” Sheach said. 

Chiari said mobile units generally respond to disasters, such as floods, and recovery is expected to take days or longer. They also serve as a station where people can get food or a meeting place where responders can go over logistics or planning. 

“We have great relationships with the fire departments and county coordinators in Franklin, Essex, and Clinton (counties), and so this gives us an opportunity to also serve the community by saying, ‘Here’s an extra tool. If you need it, we’ll deploy it. We’ll send it where you need it, and plug in our communications and help out,’ Sheach said.