Critical Engineering Design for a Community Storm Shelter

KAI was hired by Dallas County to provide Architecture, Interior Design and Mechanical, Plumbing and Fire Protection Engineering for a new Design-Build Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the county. Two existing buildings on this site are scheduled for demolition. A preliminary program documents a facility consisting of the following areas:

• Emergency operation center with associated support space
• Commissioner court and support staff offices
• Media/ public briefing rooms and associated support spaces
• Warehouse and loading dock
• Shared spaces inclusive of break rooms, fitness areas and locker rooms
• Building support spaces inclusive of mechanical and electrical support space
• Data center

The site will be modified and expanded to park approximately 250 vehicles. This will include a combination of unsecured public/ media parking and secured parking for elected officials, EOC Staff and other public officials. An outdoor green space for employee use is also being designed.

A Week of Emergency Services for the Community

The EOC will be constructed as an ICC 500 – 2020 Storm Shelter. Dallas County and the Sheriff’s Department required that the facility be capable of maintaining full operational continuity for a minimum of seven days, exceeding the standard 72-hour requirement specified by typical storm shelter codes. To achieve this extended resilience, all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems were upgraded and designed with full redundancy. KAI’s Engineering team developed and implemented redundant infrastructure across all critical systems. Throughout the process, we collaborated closely with the client to perform a comprehensive needs assessment for MEP systems, addressing detailed operational considerations such as, “Will shower facilities be available for all occupants for the entire one-week duration?” Our Engineering team learned much about the very detailed and unique specifications for these back-up generators, system pumps and tanks due to the longevity required from these systems.

Specialized Engineering Solutions

A portion of the facility was not subject to the stringent storm shelter requirements applied to the storm sheleter areas. To accommodate this, the engineering team designed specialized isolation valves capable of shutting off utility service to the non-rated portion of the facility during emergency conditions.

Due to Dallas County’s requirements, the chillers were located outdoors but still required protective measures. The equipment yard—including backup generators—was enclosed and rated for storm conditions. Since air-cooled chillers cannot be enclosed due to airflow requirements, we coordinated with the client to implement redundant backup systems within the covered, storm-rated yard. This solution ensured continuity of critical services while maintaining compliance with storm protection criteria.