Visit to the State Control Centre

The Epicentre of Disaster Management

Geography Victoria visit to the State Control Centre – 25 August
It occupies one floor of 8 Nicholson Street, and it can be the hub of sometimes hundreds of people working to keep Victorians safe in an emergency. What a privilege it was for Geography Victoria to be provided with a tour of the State Control Centre (SCC) by Tom Szczupak, the Operational Lead of the SCC and Frazer Wilson, Team Leader of Predictive Services at Forest, Fire Management Victoria.

Tom provided an extensive overview of the facility and the multiple channels of information which are directed to the Centre. The importance of communication across all departments and the relaying of this information to the community in a timely fashion were also highlighted - so many improvements implemented by lessons learned from the Black Saturday bushfires.

Frazer then provided an extraordinary insight into disaster management planning in his role with Forest Fire Management Victoria. Frazer has been a qualified fire fighter for over 20 years and currently leads the Metropolitan Melbourne Fire Behaviour, Ecology and Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting team. His presentation Fire Behaviour and Mapping emphasised the value and importance of a geographical skill set that can be utilised to analyze complex data in an emergency. Our sincere thanks also to Cris Ramos, Manager Vicmap Strategy and Engagement and Grace Elliot, Manager State Control Centre who facilitated this visit to the SCC.