Police and ambulance leaders have hailed the city's new emergency operations centre as among the best they have seen.
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First responders, including Fire and Rescue NSW representatives, toured the $1.8 million Local Emergency Operations Centre on the top floor of City of Newcastle's new Stewart Avenue offices on Thursday.
The council meeting and training room and adjoining offices and commercial kitchen will convert into the LEOC when serious fires and floods strike.
The previous LEOC at Tighes Hill was used during the 2007 Pasha Bulker storm and 2015 east coast low. A temporary emergency centre operated out of Newcastle Library during the bushfires last summer.
The LEOC includes a wall of video screens, high-speed wifi and telecommunications equipment so emergency service chiefs can coordinate operations in the field during emergencies.
NSW Ambulance's deputy director of operations in Hunter New England, Jordan Emery, said the new centre was "absolutely state-of-the-art".
"I've worked in a number of different local emergency operations centres over many years, and I've never seen anything like this," Inspector Jordan said.
"We've been given an opportunity to see how some of the technology works, and I think that technology is a cut above the rest."
Newcastle City police district chief inspector Ian Macey said he was "very impressed" and the LEOC was on par with the best operations centres in Sydney.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the $1.8 million had been spent on communications technology and the fit-out of the space to make it suitable for an LEOC.
"It's a lot less than trying to retro-fit the Tighes Hill building or build a completely separate new building," Cr Nelmes said.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
