In a casual conversation with Northampton Regional EMS, Catasauqua Emergency Management Coordinator Joe Carl heard about a 20-year-old ambulance that was being decommissioned.

“All the medical gear in the ambulance was out of date, but the vehicle was in pretty good shape,” he said.

No one really wanted an older ambulance or the gear that was in it.

Carl grabbed his crew, Greg Hoch and Les Steitz, and they converted the vehicle from an outdated ambulance to an updated incident response vehicle.

“We don’t go out on every call, but if there is something that looks like the first responders need additional help, we go,” Carl said.

What the emergency management team developed was a command post that can monitor incidentals.

“If it’s hot outside, we can get firefighters in here to cool off. If the first responders need to talk with the building owner or victims, we can provide them with a place where they can gather information that is away from all the activity at the scene,” he said.

First responders can call for the incident center when they think it is needed. Carl and his crew have a good working relationship with fire and police and are often aware of instances that might require their assistance.

The incident center has access to communications and the police computer if needed. They also carry field tents, tables, chairs and emergency personal protective equipment.

“We were prepared when the COVID virus first hit. We had stock for masks and equipment that we needed. We were able to react immediately, and then we coordinated with other suppliers to replenish our stock,” he said.

A couple of unique items were developed locally and have been instrumental in local emergencies. The team kept VHF low-frequency radios when they went out of favor. They were upgraded because the older technology was easily overwhelmed. For local instances, they work fine and allow communications without crowding the high-tech channels used by first responders.

Surplus metal scanners were added. They can be helpful scanning people that may have been in an explosion. The scanners are also used in active-shooter drills conducted at the school.

Carl said he plans to add drone capability.

“We have the capability with most units, but this drone can act as a backup or to augment what first responders have,” he said.

The emergency management center is in the municipal building. The center can be expanded to a full-scale operations room by stretching into the neighboring training room.

The most intensive task underway now is developing an emergency operations plan, which will have procedures in place to handle incidents. Importantly, the plan will have contact information to get assistance on site.

“Some things might happen that we have never seen before,” Carl said, “but if we have good contacts and procedures in place, we can adapt.”