With Storm Season Coming, Fla. Officials Test Portable Shelters

May 29--They unfold like pieces of paper into pop-up buildings.

They can be used as emergency command centers, medical treatment facilities and even temporary housing for firefighters, paramedics and police.

And two such units have been purchased by the Broward Sheriff's Office just in time for the start of hurricane season Sunday.

The units known as FORTS (or Fold Out Rigid Temporary Shelters) were demonstrated Wednesday by the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and FORTS Corp., a company based in Coconut Creek.

The Broward Sheriff's Office and the Palm Beach County Division of Emergency Management are the first two South Florida governmental entities to acquire the units.

When disasters strike, emergency responders need temporary work spaces to perform tasks such as disaster-relief coordination, helping storm victims or offering medical attention.

"We're optimistic that this is the future of disaster-response operation," fire rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said. "If we have a large-scale incident, you may very well see these. It's about being ready; it's about planning."

Jachles said that potential disasters, such as hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, major power outages and even mass shootings, could call for the use of the new, space-saving fold-out shelters.

Besides being simple to build, more of these 259-square-foot units can be easily transported -- six of them fit on a flatbed tractor.

The units, which are valued at $43,000 each, are air conditioned, have doors and windows and plug in to a generator. They are made of insulated aluminum panels. Elan Zadok, FORTS Corporation's business development director, calls it an "amazing, foldable building."

In a demonstration, three men took less than five minutes to unfold a slender, 30-inch-wide, 20-foot-long unit. The roof was first propped up followed by the front wall, containing an already installed door and window.

The back section, which also had built-in windows, was then also raised before the side walls were swung open to close off the unit. Attachments such as bathrooms and kitchens can be added to the pop-up buildings and walkways can be used to connect units.

"It's a home away from home," Zadok said.

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