MHA Nation EOC and TAT Fire Management Operation Center
This facility was a Notable in the Public Safety Centers category of the 2025 Officer Station Design Awards.
Official Project Name: MHA Nation EOC and TAT Fire Management Operation Center
Project City/State: New Town, ND
Date Completed: May 1, 2024
Chief/Director: Director Emmalene Sitting Bear
Project Area (sq. ft.): 34,090
Total Cost: $24,600,000
Cost Per Square Foot: $721.62
Architect/Firm Name: EAPC Architects Engineers
City/State: Minot, ND
Phone: (701) 941-8903
Website: eapc.net
Design Team: Gloria Larsgaard, Burton Youngs, Elise Derby, Sam Wilke, Todd Berg, Richard Larsgaard, Red Schaeff, Hanna Boese, Andrew Thill-Lowery
Project Description
The MHA Nation Emergency Operations Center and Fire Management facility is the first purpose-built, tribal-led EOC in Indian Country, an unprecedented achievement in public safety infrastructure. Designed in response to the COVID19 pandemic, this facility addresses decades of under-resourced emergency response on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, home to over 17,000 members of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. The client’s core need: a modern, resilient, and community-centered facility to unify Emergency Operations and Fire Management. Co-locating the departments created shared training, logistics, and rapid response capabilities. EAPC designed a 44-acre site that includes a Situation Room, storm shelter, apparatus bays, fuel station, call center, gear access, kitchen, fitness room, safe room, and media-ready command zones. Each of these were designed with redundancy and adaptability in mind. The raised flooring, centralized monitor control, and modular spaces ensure technical agility.
This isn’t theoretical architecture. Just months after completion, the facility was activated during the October 2024 Bear Den Fire, a historic wildfire crisis affecting over 25,000 acres. The EOC provided 24/7 command coordination, tracked fire movement, housed FEMA teams, and distributed supplies. Its configuration enabled real-time planning, volunteer check-ins, and communications across 28 agencies. The co-located Mandaree station served as an Incident Command Post and shelter hub, proving the success of EAPC’s interconnected design approach.
Completed on time and under budget, this facility transformed emergency preparedness for the MHA Nation. It stands as a national model of culturally informed, high-performance emergency design, and it’s already saving lives.