The O’Brien’s Group celebrated the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art Command Post and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Slidell, La. O’Brien’s previous Command Center was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. The Command Center has been the foundation for O’Brien’s emergency response management services, which are provided to over 150 oil and gas company clients, as well as local, state and federal agencies. O’Brien’s also provides Qualified Individual (QI) and Spill Management Team (SMT) services to the shipping industry representing over 5,000 ships operating in U.S. territorial seas. Emergency calls received by O’Brien’s clients worldwide are managed from the Slidell Command Post and EOC.
Several public officials attended the ribbon cutting ceremony from the City of Slidell, including Mayor Ben Morris, Fire Chief Larry Hess, and John O’Neil, St. Tammany Parish Fire Services Director. Also present were Captain Paskewich of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans and Alton Bates of the Department of Interior and Minerals Management Service (MMS).
As a part of the welcoming home ceremony, Randall Blank, CEO of SEACOR Environmental Services, presented Mayor Morris with a donation of $10,000 for the restoration and enhancement of Slidell’s radio communications equipment.