Morabito Consultants provided structural engineering services for Harford County Emergency Operations Center, a three-story, 30,000-square-foot emergency response building serving as the county’s 911 dispatch center and emergency operations facility in Forest Hill, Maryland.
The steel-framed structure houses critical public safety functions, including dispatch operations, emergency management spaces, office areas, bunk rooms, kitchen and dining facilities, specialized transmitter and server rooms, and training and support areas distributed across multiple levels.
A key project component was the design of a pedestrian bridge connecting the new facility to the existing Emergency Operations Center and radio bays, providing secure and efficient circulation between essential public safety buildings.
Large steel plate girders at the second floor and deep long-span joists in portions of the roof framing were designed to eliminate interior columns within dispatch and emergency operations spaces. This structural strategy preserved clear sightlines to critical displays and enhanced operational efficiency for around-the-clock emergency response functions.
The completed facility provides a resilient, high-performance environment engineered to support continuous emergency response operations, integrating advanced structural solutions with the functional demands of a modern public safety communications center.