Boone County, MO Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Activation
EOC ACTIVATIONS & CRISIS COMMUNICATION
CHALLENGE
Boone County needed a modern, secure, and scalable solution for real-time coordination during Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activations and crisis communications-especially when engaging dozens of partners across local, county, state, federal, and university systems.
Legacy tools like email, phone trees, and text groups weren’t built for multi-agency collaboration and left critical gaps in continuity, access, and accountability.
SOLUTION
Boone County OEM led a county-wide initiative to improve operational readiness and multi-agency coordination. Leveraging grant funding, they secured Bridge4PS licenses for all participating county, city, and university partners, enabling a unified communications environment for EOC activations and public messaging.
STRATEGY
TWO STANDING CHANNELS WERE CREATED TO ANCHOR DAILY USE:
- Boone Co. MO EOC Activation
- Columbia/Boone County MO Crisis Communications
CREATED REUSABLE BRIDGE TEAMS TO STREAMLINE USER ACCESS DURING ACTIVATIONS:
- Boone JIC
- Boone County OEM
AGENCIES INVOLVED INCLUDE:
Boone Co OEM, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Boone Fire Protection District, Columbia Police Dept, Columbia Fire Dept, Ashland Police Dept, Mizzou Police Dept, Centralia Police Dept, MO Highway Patrol, Columbia Water & Power, Boone Health, MU Health, US VA, FEMA, Hallsville Schools, and others.
15 +JURISDICTIONS/ ORGANIZATIONS
RESULTS
- OEM-led initiative funded through grants, removing budget barriers for local, county, and university agencies to adopt secure communications.
- 24/7 readiness for rapid activation across 15+ agencies and jurisdictions.
- Eliminated silos and manual communication chains-teams can now collaborate securely and instantly with full message history and role-based access.
- Improved interagency trust, coordination, and public communication in both emergency and planned scenarios.
- Standing EOC channels allow all stakeholders to be instantly notified for any EOC activation - planned or unplanned.
