Washington County reveals renderings for new Department of Emergency Management building

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Washington County showed off renderings of its new Department of Emergency Management building on Sept. 30.

Washington County currently operates its Department of Emergency Management out of Lincoln, which is approximately a 40-minute drive from Fayetteville.

Washington County Judge Patrick Deakins realized there were communication and location issues with the current location and made it a point to work toward getting a new facility closer to the center of the county. Renderings were released of the new $8.5 million building — which will be at the county's South Campus, alongside its sheriff's department, road department and election commission, among other things.

"We're going to have a congregate facility where we can all meet, gather and share the same information under one roof," Deakins said.

There will be two halves to the building.

When walking in through the front door, the half on the right will have various office spaces and conference rooms. The biggest room on the right half will feature a conference room that can hold up to 70 people and be used to hold trainings for volunteer fire departments, for example.

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The left half, which the county refers to as its "hardened" side, can withstand winds from an EF5 tornado. In addition to kitchen space and a smaller breakout room, the featured space will contain up to 16 TV monitors for all the departments to congregate in, receiving the most up-to-date information on severe-weather emergencies.

"The different fire, central EMS, we want to be able to host those individuals in a good, high-tech facility," Deakins said.

The county is set to break ground in "the next couple of weeks" with a target completion date of summer 2025.