This facility was recognized as a Public Safety Centers Notable in the 2021 Officer Law Enforcement Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
The Southeastern Massachusetts Regional 911 District is the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the towns of Mansfield, Foxborough, Easton, Norton Massachusetts, and Bristol County Fire Control which serves as Bristol County’s NAWAS answering and warning point. All District 9-1-1 operations occur at the Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Emergency Communications Center (SEMRECC). The District’s goals were to provide a modern and safe facility with a healthy and calming work environment for the staff to optimally service the member communities. By renovating a former AT&T communication site the new SEMRECC utilizes a unique property well suited for communication and rehabilitates a property within the state forest that had become a nuisance for local agencies. The heart of the facility is the state-of-the-art communications center which is surrounded by administrative, training, technology equipment, and recovery. The new building is not only designed to address the technical and programmatical needs of the district, but also the social/emotional riggers associated with emergency communications. Built to allow for future expansion, the center opened with ten (10) call-taking and dispatch positions with the infrastructure to expand to twenty (20). The design of the new SEMRECC modernizes and refines the monolithic form of the original facility. Protected openings were created in the original hardened structure to bring in natural light and connect the building occupants with the surrounding natural landscape. Additionally, a large roof monitor was created, allowing for defuse northern light to illuminate the space, ensuring the natural and artificial lighting worked together to create an energy efficient “glare-free” work environment. Due to the remote location, domestic water treatment, fire protection water storage, and sewage disposal are all resolved on-site. Completed on time during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the project was funded by a State 9-1-1 Department Regional Development Grant.
Architect/Firm Name: Kaestle Boos Associates, inc.