Industry Pulse In Depth: Katrina Catastrophe Blows Away Central Stations, Alarm Companies

NEW ORLEANS – It will take a while for reality to set in for Moe Athmann. How does one cope with watching the city he or she grew up in literally wiped away by wind and floodwaters?

Athmann, owner and president of Baton Rouge, La., alarm-monitoring company Command Central, grew up in the famous French Quarter of New Orleans, which was one of the cities hit hardest by the Aug. 31 arrival of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath that has left more than 1,000 dead and displaced more than a million.

“It’s very difficult and it’s still difficult to believe,” says Athmann. “You see places you grew up in, or played, or the restaurants you ate at as an adult. It’s surreal.”

Central Stations Wiped Away
Extensive preparations for disaster allowed Command Central to weather the storm dozens of miles north, but the grand city Athmann grew up in will never be the same. While some central stations were well prepared to whether the worst nature had to offer (see sidebar below), there are other alarm monitoring companies that have literally been wiped from existence.

Shortly after Katrina marched out, Command Central operators helped another central station closer to New Orleans where 50 people were trapped with no lights and no food. The operators helped direct rescue workers to save the stranded operators. Athmann has also heard of a central station in downtown New Orleans that was practically underwater, and another that was relocating after a wall collapsed. “Central stations in the area took a big hit,” he says.

In the first hours after the eye of Katrina made landfall, Athmann says Command Central received more than 12,000 calls. A logistical nightmare was averted, however, when for the first time Athmann activated disaster automation software he purchased from Bold Technologies, which automatically logged the thousands of low-battery and other low-priority calls coming in so the station could concentrate on the most urgent emergencies.

But software couldn’t take the place of sheer human manpower when it came to keeping Command Central running smoothly even while all hell was breaking loose outside. All of the station’s manpower was on standby, and sleeping quarters and a rest facility was utilized upstairs. For 36 hours, a group of 12-14 operators would work their 12-hour shift, then rest upstairs while the other group took over.

“The operators are what kept us up. This went beyond what any one would expect and they just kept it rolling,” Athmann says. “I can’t say enough about what they did.”

 

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