As the largest land-mass county in the United States, with three significant seismological faults and sub-divided by a mountain range, it was critical that the San Bernardino County High Desert Public Safety Operations Center (PSOC) facility have the ability to provide continued, uninterrupted communications and operational capabilities during a disaster. The 30,000-square-foot facility serves as the redundant public safety facility in the event that services in the other parts of the County are disabled.

Griffin Structures provided program and construction management services for the facility, housed in the High Desert Government Center, located within the City of Hesperia’s Civic Center. The PSOC’s major component includes a new microwave system featuring a 175-foot tower offering redundancy elements to the system. The $16.7 million facility provides multiple communication paths in and around the greater High Desert region. Two types of devices, land mobile radio type antennas and microwave dishes, are attached to the tower.

Other features include a Sheriff and County Fire Department dispatch system, a state-of-the-art voice and data infrastructure, non-critical functions of training and administration, a kitchen, and restroom and locker areas with showers. All of these elements have duplicate emergency generators that back-up power to the building as well as the systems within the facility. Built to essential services facility standards, this complex reinforces the County’s capacity to keep all public safety functions intact during a catastrophic event.

Photo Credit: Costea Photography