City stays prepped for emergencies

While all firefighter-paramedics undergo routine fire training and emergency medical service continuing education, the hazmat/rescue team is drilled more extensively, Piland said.

"[The hazmat team is] our special operations group and we use them especially in cases like the Ebola case and the other infectious diseases that are out there," Piland said.

Emergency Operations Center

When major emergencies take place, the city's Emergency Operations Center, located at the Central Fire Station, serves as the main hub for gathering and disseminating information on the event.

"I think the biggest thing the people need to understand is the EOC is not the incident commander," Piland said. "The EOC is a support function that is more of a broad-range ability to garner resources in to assist people on the scene."

The Frisco's EOC is operated on a daily basis as a "warm" environment, Piland said, meaning there is someone regularly in the center regardless of whether an incident is taking place.

The walls of the EOC room are used for monitoring everything from local and national news to current fire and police incidents, the 400 or so traffic cameras as well as numerous other PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras and HD cameras perched on city water towers, said Jean May, the city's emergency management specialist.

"We watch weather in here, too—weather is a big thing for us," she said.

Phones and computers at desks line the interior of the room in cases so that when an event happens, various city officials have a place to work. Information from any of their computers can be placed on one of the large screens in the room.

The number of people in the room will depend on the severity of the emergency, May said.

A side room in the EOC includes HAM radios for the city to keep in touch with storm spotters in case of bad weather, one computer with video teleconferencing capabilities and another computer from which the city's outdoor warning system can be tested and operated.

The city also has a mobile command unit that allows situations to be handled on-site and can be rolled out in emergencies as well as at large city events such as the Jimmy Buffett concert.