Begun in 1992 as a "test", the IRIS program now protects over 500 company-operated and franchise retail sites, marketing terminals and home heating offices. Trained Intervention Specialists are on the job 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

The system provides the ability to see and hear what is happening and respond to it in the most effective manner. It also enables Sunoco to protect our facilities and neighboring communities. Whether it’s a fire, gas spill or leak, electrical outage, flood or other emergency situation, the Intervention Specialist can electronically intervene within minutes. The CMF also handles emergency calls from the SUNCALL, Chemtrec and Crime Stopper hotlines. Additionally, the CMF is a contact point for the crude oil transport ships making their way across the ocean to Sunoco’s East Coast refineries. The ship captains contact the CMF to report any schedule delays or other problems. Due to advances in technology teamed with additional elicitation of customers with-in Sunoco. CMF has created two new positions, Operations Coordinator and Technology Coordinator. The CMF also assists in Marketing’s Nurse on Call program. This program allows the CMF to connect a marketing employee directly to a nurse on call for any medical situation that might occur. Whether it is a headache to a hurt ankle, CMF is always available.

To ensure that each intervention specialist is fully prepared to handle any situation, they receive extensive training in a number of areas including crisis management, customer service, situation analysis, and alarm technology. These specialists resolve most alarms without incident and without dispatching law enforcement. The training enables the Intervention Specialists to solve challenging situations by visually identifying behavior and quickly determining the appropriate response action. After surveying the situation, they can either ‘voice in’ and let would-be perpetrators know they are being monitored and recorded, thus stopping criminal activities and disturbances before they occur, or they can immediately contact local law enforcement if a situation is already in progress.

The interactive security system provides a two-way communication between the Intervention Specialist and the police, so the police are prepared once they arrive at the scene. In some cases a perpetrator may have left the area before police arrive. In this case, police can still get the information they need quickly. An incident video can be burned onto a CD and mailed to police, or video clips can be produced and mailed electronically. Getting mission-critical information to local law enforcement can be accomplished within minutes.

New for 2008, the CMF has expanded its operational role to provide emergency operations for the Disaster Response Plan. This changed the name from CMF to the CMF/EOC, Central Monitoring Facility & Emergency Operations Center. Being that the department has cutting edge communication technology it only made sense to run emergency operation out of this center. This was put to the test during hurricane Ike. The EOC provided communications, information, and employee tracking. The CMF/EOC dispatched two emergency responders to Texas to conduct advance work for the personnel being dispatched to the hurricane stricken area. The team was able to support local Sunoco employees who stayed during the storm, providing security, food, and water.

The CMF/EOC also has a mobile emergency storage container that can be dispatched anywhere in the U.S. The container is stocked with items ranging from MRE meals to generators. The CMF/EOC trains for the worst but hope for the best.