Macomb County Operates Third-Largest Emergency Dispatch Center in Michigan

Macomb County runs Michigan's third-largest emergency dispatch center. It serves 800,000 residents across most of the county. The facility has a massive 20-by-50-foot video wall. It also connects to 350 traffic cameras that monitor situations before first responders get there.

Brandon Lewis directs emergency management and communications. He walked reporters through the operations center as storms moved toward the area. The video wall displays camera feeds, weather radar, and The Weather Channel when severe weather hits.

"We have this 20-by-50-foot video wall that we can use for situational awareness. So, we can see with our own eyes what's going on during any critical event," said Lewis to WXYZ.

Warren is the only municipality the dispatch center doesn't cover. Nine separate operational zones allow crews to respond wherever needed in the region.

Lewis explained how the facility sometimes witnesses events in the field before first responders reach the scene. "We can see camera feeds from approximately 350 different traffic cameras in Macomb County," he said. "Pretty much if you can think of it, we can figure out a way to put it up there."

Staff at the operations center track weather threats. They communicate with partners throughout the community. Teams watch storms on radar panels and decide how to respond.

"So we're actively monitoring. We're communicating with all of our community partners, letting them know what we're seeing and kind of watching what's going on," Lewis said.

Lewis described last week's tornadoes in southwest Michigan as tragic and surprising. The intensity caught people unprepared. Timing was awful and warning time was short.

"It's just tragic. First of all, you don't see that type of tornado with that type of intensity often in Michigan at all and then to see it in March and to see how it caught everybody by surprise with so little warning," Lewis said. "It's tragic and my heart goes out to the residents on the west side of the state."

DTE has crews standing by to restore power if outages occur during storms.