Illinois Interagency Dispatch Center Relocated

New digs are clean and spacious.

Shawnee National Forest fire dispatch personnel moved into the new dispatch Illinois Interagency Dispatch Center during December 2008. The center, located near Marion, Illinois, is definitely an upgrade from the former, one-room in which the personnel and equipment had been crammed.

The new facility houses two full-time Forest employees, and the Forest Fire Management Officer who will be splitting his time between the new facility and the Supervisor's Office in Harrisburg. In addition, two part-time Fish and Wildlife Service, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge employees have office space in the new facility.

Facilities at the new center includes a laundry for firefighters returning from a wildfire to launder their gear, a kitchen area that includes a refrigerator and microwave, a conference room that can be utilized for training or meetings, several private offices, an initial-attack radio room with all the necessary equipment, plus a bay for Fish and Wildlife to store fire equipment.

With wildfire assistance available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling the emergency number, the Illinois Interagency Dispatch Center is revolutionizing effectiveness and efficiency and promotes interagency cooperation.